The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea

Plot synopsis:
Much of the story is told following the actions of Noburu Kuroda, an adolescent boy living in Yokohama, Japan, who does well in school but is secretly "Number Three" in an adolescent group of boys who reject conventional morality and are led by their schoolmate, the "Chief". Noburu discovers in his chest of drawers a secret peephole into his widowed mother's bedroom (speculated to have been put there by previous occupants, American troops), and uses it to spy on her. Since Noburu has a keen interest in ships, his upper-class mother Fusako, who owns Rex, a European-style haute fashion clothing store, takes him to visit one near the end of the summer. There they meet Ryuji Tsukazaki, a sailor and second mate aboard the commercial steamer Rakuyo with vague notions of a special honor awaiting him at sea. Ryuji has always remained aloof from the land, and while accruing a substantial savings, has no real ties with other sailors either. Ryuji and Fusako develop a romantic relationship, their first night of sex is spied upon by Noburu at the peephole but the second takes place at a hotel to Noburu's disappointment. The relationship continues but ultimately ends when the Rakuyo sets sail again.
Noburu at first reveres Ryuji, but a chance encounter on the second day of their acquaintance changes his stance. Noburu and his friends have just come from Noburu capturing (and then the Chief vivisecting) a stray kitten, and he has lied about his whereabouts to his household. Ryuji has combatted the extreme heat by dousing himself with water. Noburu takes issue with what he perceives as an undignified appearance and greeting by Ryuji, although he is later thrilled by Ryuji recounting his voyages around the world.
While Ryuji is sailing, he and Fusako exchange letters, and they fall deeply in love. Returning to Yokohama around the New Year, he moves into their house, lets the Rakuyo sail without him, and ultimately decides to marry Fusako (Fusako plans to install him in a managing position at Rex, after Ryuji passes a private investigator audit of his circumstances). This estranges him from Noburu, whose group resents fathers as a terrible manifestation of a terrible position. Noburu is nonetheless able to hide his true feelings behind a mask of youthful innocence. Noburu is discovered in his peephole position (for which he must crawl into his chest of drawers) but Ryuji does not punish him severely despite being asked to by Fusako.
As Ryuji begins to draw close to Fusako, a woman of the shore, he is eventually torn away from the nautical dreams he's pursued his entire life. After an "emergency meeting" of the gang, the Chief determines that the only way to restore Ryuji to being a "hero" is to kill him in a similar manner to the kitten (they will use drugged tea to subdue Ryuji after luring him to a remote location under the guise of asking him for sea stories). The Chief expressly quotes from the Japanese criminal law to show that they, as individuals under 14, cannot be held criminally responsible for their actions. Their plan works perfectly; as he drinks the tea, Ryuji muses on the life he has given up at sea, and the no-longer-possible heroic life of love and death he has abandoned. The novel ends, presumably (but not explicitly) with the boys' plan being carried to completion.

Tags: revenge

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