I once thought that it would still have the unique forbidden/taboo color of Mishima, and I secretly thought that a certain plot node would expose Mishima's usual dark, pessimistic aesthetic color of destruction, but reading it through, it was really fresh and unworldly.
This is one of the few works by Yukio Mishima that depicts pure love and a simple life. The story was created in 1953, when Mishima returned to Japan from a study tour in Europe and the United States, indulged in the wonderful art of Greece, combining greek classical art with the traditional Oriental aesthetics of Japan, and creating a new artistic style with a unique aesthetic.
It's a love story of an innocent man and a woman, on an island where men go out to sea to fish and women dive to collect. They are simple, rude, and kind. The poor family's boy Xinzhi, returning from fishing, met the rich lady Chu Jiang, the two secretly have a love affair, beautiful love will not let you get easily, how can you be unforgettable without experiencing some wind and rain? Under Mishima's arrangement, the jealous Chiyoko and the lewd/trivial Ano appeared, adding a dramatic stroke to this love, enriching the entire story axis, and in the end, Shinji won the trust of the old man through his kindness and frankness, and agreed to marry Hatsue to him, such a complete, sweet and happy love story, I can't believe it is from Mishima's pen.
In addition to these people who exude the salty taste of the sea, the description of the daily life of the fishermen of the island in the book is also very poetic and pastoral, they have faith, believe/worship the gods/ming. It is as if living in a paradise: "The pine trees are still shallow green, but the sea near the shore is stained with the dark red of spring seaweed, and the northwest monsoon is constantly blowing from the mouth of the sea in Tsu City, adding a bit of cold to those who come here to enjoy the scenery." "Rising to the top and looking back at the Ise Sea, the night sky is full of stars, clouds, and the low clouds in the corner of the Chita Peninsula are slanted, and silent lightning flies from time to time." These two sentences directly present the beautiful and bright scenery of the island in front of us, which makes people yearn.
This "ChaoSao" and the previous "Confessions of the Mask" and "Kinkakuji Temple" are completely different writing methods, this simple rural life, accurate and meticulous life details, unique realistic expression methods, let me read, frequently recall the girl's vision and yearning for love, simple and beautiful. Close the book and quietly think in your mind about the sound of the waves crashing on the shore, whether it is morning dawn or dusk, this beautiful and pure love may be happening in another parallel world.