I will admit I am not avid reader. In fact, majority of the times that I have read in my life have been forced because of a class, or because I needed something to help me getting to sleep at night. When entering English 353, I was a little nervous when discovering all the books we had to read this semester, and the time frame we had to read them in. It has been a long time since I have picked up a book and been drawn to read more; that is until I came across this book, ‘An Artist of the Floating World.’
An Artist of the Floating World is a book written by Kazuo Ishiguro. Some of you may recognize this name, but from where you wonder? Ishiguro’s also wrote the book, The Remains of the Day, which later became a blockbuster hit. An Artist of the Floating World starts of in October of 1948 in the aftermath of World War II. In the well known city of Nagasaki, Japan, we find our main character Masuji ono taking a reminiscing walk along the Bridge of Hesitation. He seems to be an interesting character right of the bat. He begins the story by telling us of his beautiful house on the top of the hill. He tells us of the cedar gateway, the large area bound by the garden wall, and the roof with its elegant tiles and its stylishly carved ridgepole pointing out over the view. Then he does something interesting, he says, “But then I am not, nor have I ever been, a wealthy man. This struck me as odd instantly. He follows up by telling us how he obtained the house from its former owner Akira Sugimura, a well known name around those parts prior to the war. Why would one announce that he is not a rich man? Is he ashamed of his house? Has he done something that would make people look at him in disgust? These are all questions that I started thinking to my self as well. What kind of a man is Ono?
Masuji Ono is a Father of two daughters, Noriko and Setsuko, and one son who died in Manchuria in the war. He is married, but his wife never seems to be around. Ono is a retired artist/painter who seems to have something to hide about his work he did as a young man. Ono seems to be a man of great mystery and illusions. Through out what I have read thus far we often find Ono in a sense of daydreaming about his past (post war), when things were good. We know that he likes to escape to his “pleasure district” with his good friend Shintaro. This can be compared to Disney Land for grown ups. A place where you can get drunk and mingle, we find him frequenting Mrs. Kawakami’s Bar. It is here where the two men talk about the days of old. It is these days of old that seem to be constantly pecking away at Ono’s brain.
There are many things that are not brought to the readers’ attention right away. Like I said earlier, Ono is a strange man. Everything that has to do with his past seems to haunt him in some strange way. For instance, at one point in the story Ono is browsing through his grandson Ichiro’s painting when Ichiro asks, “Where are your paintings Grandpa?” Ono tells him that they a tucked away and basically not to worry about them. It is this diversion technique that Ono is constantly giving the reader as if he has something to hide about the past.
I mentioned prior that Ono had two daughters. His oldest daughter, Setsuko, seems to be a little bit different then that of his youngest, Noriko. There is one instance where the three of them are sitting in the veranda talking. The youngest daughter says, “Setsuko probably has no idea of what you’re like these days, Father. She remembers you from when you were a tyrant and ordered us all around. You’re much more gentle these days, isn’t that so?’ It is in this quote that I realized that Setsuko has a different way of perceiving her father than her younger sibling. Setsuko has much more respect for her father and it seems to be that her respect came from the old Ono in his days as a tyrant. Noriko seems to look at her dad as almost a teddy bear figure. To me the girls represent Ono before the war and after.
There is one more point that I want to re-discuss in this character analysis of Ono. It seems that Ono is floating between two worlds. I know I have touched on this briefly but I feel that it is important. Ono seems to be almost ashamed of the past. We aren’t really told much about his past thus far in the book. What we are told is that he was a painter and how he acquired his house. The rest we learn of Ono is what he wants us to know, all the while though we can sense that there is a whole different side to Ono. Maybe he is living in denial of his possessions and social status. Why is he ashamed? Is he ashamed? There are many questions about Ono that we will learn as we continue in our reading.
In conclusion, An Artist of the Floating World is a book of great mystery through the eyes of Ono. We are lead on a trip through Ono’s eyes. We learn that there is something that Ono seems to be disclosing to us about his past. It’s almost as if he is ashamed of his past and doesn’t want people to know about it. I am sure as we continue to dive deeper into this novel, we will uncover more about Mr. Ono, and the world of which he lives in.
An Artist of the Floating World is a book written by Kazuo Ishiguro. Some of you may recognize this name, but from where you wonder? Ishiguro’s also wrote the book, The Remains of the Day, which later became a blockbuster hit. An Artist of the Floating World starts of in October of 1948 in the aftermath of World War II. In the well known city of Nagasaki, Japan, we find our main character Masuji ono taking a reminiscing walk along the Bridge of Hesitation. He seems to be an interesting character right of the bat. He begins the story by telling us of his beautiful house on the top of the hill. He tells us of the cedar gateway, the large area bound by the garden wall, and the roof with its elegant tiles and its stylishly carved ridgepole pointing out over the view. Then he does something interesting, he says, “But then I am not, nor have I ever been, a wealthy man. This struck me as odd instantly. He follows up by telling us how he obtained the house from its former owner Akira Sugimura, a well known name around those parts prior to the war. Why would one announce that he is not a rich man? Is he ashamed of his house? Has he done something that would make people look at him in disgust? These are all questions that I started thinking to my self as well. What kind of a man is Ono?
Masuji Ono is a Father of two daughters, Noriko and Setsuko, and one son who died in Manchuria in the war. He is married, but his wife never seems to be around. Ono is a retired artist/painter who seems to have something to hide about his work he did as a young man. Ono seems to be a man of great mystery and illusions. Through out what I have read thus far we often find Ono in a sense of daydreaming about his past (post war), when things were good. We know that he likes to escape to his “pleasure district” with his good friend Shintaro. This can be compared to Disney Land for grown ups. A place where you can get drunk and mingle, we find him frequenting Mrs. Kawakami’s Bar. It is here where the two men talk about the days of old. It is these days of old that seem to be constantly pecking away at Ono’s brain.
There are many things that are not brought to the readers’ attention right away. Like I said earlier, Ono is a strange man. Everything that has to do with his past seems to haunt him in some strange way. For instance, at one point in the story Ono is browsing through his grandson Ichiro’s painting when Ichiro asks, “Where are your paintings Grandpa?” Ono tells him that they a tucked away and basically not to worry about them. It is this diversion technique that Ono is constantly giving the reader as if he has something to hide about the past.
I mentioned prior that Ono had two daughters. His oldest daughter, Setsuko, seems to be a little bit different then that of his youngest, Noriko. There is one instance where the three of them are sitting in the veranda talking. The youngest daughter says, “Setsuko probably has no idea of what you’re like these days, Father. She remembers you from when you were a tyrant and ordered us all around. You’re much more gentle these days, isn’t that so?’ It is in this quote that I realized that Setsuko has a different way of perceiving her father than her younger sibling. Setsuko has much more respect for her father and it seems to be that her respect came from the old Ono in his days as a tyrant. Noriko seems to look at her dad as almost a teddy bear figure. To me the girls represent Ono before the war and after.
There is one more point that I want to re-discuss in this character analysis of Ono. It seems that Ono is floating between two worlds. I know I have touched on this briefly but I feel that it is important. Ono seems to be almost ashamed of the past. We aren’t really told much about his past thus far in the book. What we are told is that he was a painter and how he acquired his house. The rest we learn of Ono is what he wants us to know, all the while though we can sense that there is a whole different side to Ono. Maybe he is living in denial of his possessions and social status. Why is he ashamed? Is he ashamed? There are many questions about Ono that we will learn as we continue in our reading.
In conclusion, An Artist of the Floating World is a book of great mystery through the eyes of Ono. We are lead on a trip through Ono’s eyes. We learn that there is something that Ono seems to be disclosing to us about his past. It’s almost as if he is ashamed of his past and doesn’t want people to know about it. I am sure as we continue to dive deeper into this novel, we will uncover more about Mr. Ono, and the world of which he lives in.
1 comment on Uncovering Masuji Ono
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robburton
said 2 months ago
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