The 1950s were a pivotal point in Japanese history: the point at which the Japanese population had to reject or accept the Westernization of their country. Yukio Mishima personally rejected this new culture, choosing instead to cling to traditional Shinto, Japan's native religion. The overall cultural machinations and changes that occurred would eventually be reflected in Mishima's The Sound of Waves. He effectively used the interpersonal relationships created in the novel as a method to better convey his views against the Westernization of Japan. The framing of these characters as cultural symbols has weight in and of itself, and further interactions between these characters give rise to an almost allegorical level of symbolism. The end result of this is an integration of Mishima's cultural beliefs with those of the reader. Before exploring the impact of Mishima's cultural views on his novel, it is necessary to know what these beliefs are. On a more general level, one can label its culture as “militaristic Shinto,” an ultranationalist interpretation of traditional Japanese religion. In Shinto it was accepted that “the Emperor descended from [the Japanese gods]” (“Emperor Deity”). The further centralization of the shogunate, the governing body of the emperor, necessarily led to a more direct connection between the sociopolitical and religious spheres. Mishima's pastoral emphasis on nature and religion must, therefore, be linked to his views on politics and government. Furthermore, Shinto's militaristic ultranationalist zeal stemmed from expansionist-era interpretations of traditional religious texts. For many, the expansion could be justified with arguments of racial superiority and divine origin... at the center of the card... their interactions and those of the cultures they represent. Ultimately, the nature of their relationships depends on Mishima's interpretations of cultures, which are inherently partial and subjective due to his militaristic Shinto cultural background. Works CitedCarroll, Beverlee J. "State Shinto." Professor of world religions. World-Religions-Professor.com. Network. May 29, 2014."Emperor's Divinity." BBC News. BBC, 7 September 2009. Web. 29 May 2014. Mishima, Yukio. The sound of the waves. Trans. Meredith Weatherby and Yoshinori Kinoshita. New York: Vintage, 1994. Print.Prince, Stephen. "Kurosawa Vision." The warrior's camera: the cinema of Akira Kurosawa. Princeton, NJ: Princeton UP, 1999. 24. Print.Schwartz, Seth et al. American Psychological Association. Communalism, familism and filial piety: are they birds of a collectivist feather? 2010. PDF file.