In “The Seventh Man,” the main character is the narrator of the story. The main character’s father dies in the story, but not his mother, and his father’s death is not explained. The story’s text only says,

Father had died the previous year, and my brother had sold the family home in order to divide up the proceeds.

The only death that is discussed in depth in the story is the death of K, the narrator’s childhood friend. The story focuses on a tsunami that is raging against the coast of Japan. During a lull in the storm, the narrator and his friend K go out toward the beach. K sees a dog and goes out to meet it on the beach. He is distracted by it. The narrator, noticing that a giant wave is forming, tries yelling to get K’s attention, but when he finally does, it is too late. K is crushed by the massive wave and then swept away into the ocean. They never find his body.

As for other deaths that are discussed, the “seventh man” is a man who is 7th in the discussion order at their tsunami survivors’s meeting, he shares that he lost everyone he loved in a wave. The main cause of death in the story, at least that is thematically linked to K’s death, is the idea of a tsunami drowning people who cannot get away.