The Sound of the Mountain: Analysis of Major Characters
"The Sound of the Mountain" explores the complexities of familial relationships and individual struggles through its major characters, centered around Shingo, a businessman in his sixties grappling with aging and his sense of failure as a father. He shares a long and comfortable marriage with Yasuko, who has settled into a domestic role, yet their relationship has grown indifferent over the years. Their son, Shuichi, a war veteran, battles personal demons and infidelity, while his wife Kikuko navigates the emotional turmoil of being a loving spouse amidst her husband’s betrayals. Shingo's daughter, Fusako, deals with her own challenges, including the aftermath of her tumultuous marriage. The characters are interconnected through their shared struggles, desires, and the shifting dynamics of their relationships, highlighting themes of love, loss, and the search for meaning in a changing world. The narrative deftly illustrates the emotional landscape of each character, providing a rich tapestry of human experience and the impact of societal expectations on personal lives.
The Sound of the Mountain: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Yasunari Kawabata
First published: Yama no oto, 1949–1954, serial; 1954, book (English translation, 1970)
Genre: Novel
Locale: Kamakura, Tokyo, and Shinshu, Japan
Plot: Psychological realism
Time: The early 1950's
Shingo, a businessman. At roughly sixty-three years old, he is a year younger than his wife and preoccupied with some of the principal concerns of aging. His unreliable memory at one point makes him forget momentarily how to knot his tie, whereas his longing for his beautiful, long-dead sister-in-law is disturbingly fresh. It is right before her death that he first hears the sound of the mountain. Concerned that the problems of his son and daughter point to his failure as a father, he feels inept trying to straighten out their lives as adults. Unable to sleep soundly, he dreams frequently and is forced to remember his old friends as they pass away. A man sensitive to the beauty of nature, especially of flowers, he takes refuge in a subtly erotic but platonic friendship with his daughter-in-law, who seems to care more about him than do his own children.
Yasuko, Shingo's wife of some forty years. She is a plain woman who grew up in the shadow of her beautiful sister. When her sister died, Yasuko, in love with both her sister and her brother-in-law, went to live in her sister's home, willingly becoming a maid. Rescued from this domestic slavery by her marriage to Shingo, Yasuko has settled into a comfortable matronly role. She annoys her husband with her snoring and her habit of collecting newspapers for several days before reading them, sometimes aloud, to her family. Her relationship with her daughter is strong, but her long marriage has made her indifferent to her husband.
Shuichi, Shingo's son and a coworker in the same office. He appears to be suffering from his traumas as a soldier during the war, and perhaps it is for this reason that, though married to the beautiful and loving Kikuko, he finds a mistress soon after the wedding. With his mistress, he drinks excessively and becomes violent, but with his wife he seems to show his softer, hurting side. He and his wife share a love of French songs.
Fusako, Shingo's daughter and the mother of two children. Only thirty years old, she has left her husband and come to live with her parents but appears to be in touch with her abusive failure of a husband until he commits suicide with another woman. Somewhat defensive about her plain looks, she perceives her father's attraction to her sister-in-law and is jealous.
Kikuko, Shuichi's wife. The youngest of eight children, she retains a delicate, fragile, and childlike quality about her, a quality that her father-in-law describes as “clean.” She is the only beautiful woman in Shingo's household but is childless. Although she is an ideal daughter-in-law and a loving and forgiving wife, she quietly rebels against her husband's philandering by aborting her long-awaited pregnancy.
Tanizaki Eiko, a secretary in Shingo's office for three years, a slight, petite woman recommended to Shingo by an acquaintance. Eiko has a passing fling with Shuichi and has to leave her job. She visits Shingo briefly but regularly and is the chief go-between who brings the father together with the son's mistress to negotiate a breakup.
Kinuko, also called Kinu, Shuichi's mistress. A large woman with a round and cheerful face, she is a war widow resentful of women whom she perceives to be pampered wives, those who still have their husbands. She is determined to have a child, even illegitimately. Although Shuichi beats her in his attempts to get her to have an abortion, she is determined to carry her pregnancy through and breaks up with him. She soothes everyone's conscience by avowing that the baby is not Shuichi's.