Ryuji Tsukazaki

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Ryuji Tsukazaki
Character Analysis
Ryuji Tsukazaki, the subject of the novel’s title and arguably its central character, is an eccentric, passionate 33-year-old sailor who has lived and worked on the freighter ship Rakuyo for more than a decade. At the end of World War II, he lost his home, his only remaining family members died, and he graduated from merchant-marine school. So, instead of shipping out to war, he went to work on the Rakuyo. For years, much like sailors during the war, he dreamed of achieving glory at sea. Specifically, he expected to find glory, death, and love all together by pursuing a “Grand Cause.” But instead, he just grew increasingly weary of the sailor’s life