Customs and beliefs are what make up a tradition, and tradition is how you live your life. In the novel The Sound of Waves, Yukio Mishima presents his vision of Japanese traditionalism. In this novel, it is shown that Yukio Mishima believed that Japanese tradition consisted of an organized social class, the Bushido code, and pursuing what one truly believes should be theirs. Mishima illustrated these personal visions of Japanese traditionalism through the actions of the Shinji. First of all, Mishima illustrated the importance of social class in the lives of Japanese people and Japan in general. For example, Shinji said, “It's all because I'm poor (113).” Social ranks played a huge role in Japan. When one is born, he is born into his family, whether he is rich or poor. At first, Terukichi does not allow Hatsue to date Shinji due to their different social classes. Shinji knew that it was because of his low rank that he could not marry Hatuse, but Terukici ultimately allowed Hatsue and Shinji to marry. This showed that Mishima believed that the tradition of Japanese social class could be broken if true love brought two people together. Another example where social class became a conflict is when Yasuo thought that he would be the one to marry Hatsue and become Terukichi's new son. This assumption by Yasuo shows that in tradition it is known that a person of a certain level in the social class marries another person of the same level. Since Hatsue and Yasuo are from the same social class, Yasuo believed that they were destined to marry. Terukichi thought so too, but once he realized how much Shinji worked, he knew that Shinji would be a sticky substance... half of paper... he went after her. This action by Shinji made it seem like Mishima's beliefs include pursuing something or someone you want to achieve. This is the main difference between Shinji and the narrator of Balzac and the little Chinese seamstress. Throughout the novel, The Sound of Waves, Mishima illustrates his views on Japanese social class, the Bushido code, and pursuing what you believe in. He illustrates this through Shinji's actions. Tradition plays a huge role in Japan and revolves around the lives of the Japanese people. Although tradition is a belief or custom that has been going on for generations, it can be broken if one truly believes that something or someone is best for them. The world is made up of numerous traditions from different cultures, and one's tradition is usually shown through their actions.