The Sound of Waves and Other Stories

A young university student watches a woman linger on a rock above the breaking sea. Her distress becomes impossible for him to ignore. Elsewhere, a couple fleeing the world finds that a quiet mountain resort cannot quiet their hearts. A traveler looks forward to crossing the sea and meeting a woman in secret, even as he parts from the companion who has guided him through a long journey.

These five writings by Tayama Katai move between public scenes and hidden feelings. “Father’s Grave” follows a son into a provincial town and toward the grave of a father killed in war. In “Father,” a daughter’s return to a hot-spring resort awakens memories that her family has kept carefully unspoken. Together, the pieces ask what sympathy, desire, and remembrance can reveal about a life.

A major figure in Japanese naturalism, Katai (1872–1930) observes ordinary settings with emotional intensity. This complete new English translation presents all five supplied works in collection order, with brief textual notes. AI-assisted translation, prepared and edited by Valentin Sarić.