essay questions from an artist of the floating world

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An Artist of the Floating World

Kazuo ishiguro.

Welcome to the LitCharts study guide on Kazuo Ishiguro's An Artist of the Floating World . Created by the original team behind SparkNotes, LitCharts are the world's best literature guides.

An Artist of the Floating World: Introduction

An artist of the floating world: plot summary, an artist of the floating world: detailed summary & analysis, an artist of the floating world: themes, an artist of the floating world: quotes, an artist of the floating world: characters, an artist of the floating world: symbols, an artist of the floating world: theme wheel, brief biography of kazuo ishiguro.

Historical Context of An Artist of the Floating World

Other books related to an artist of the floating world.

• Full Title: An Artist of the Floating World
• When Written: 1980s
• Where Written: England
• When Published: 1986
• Literary Period: Post-Postmodern Literature; Realism; New Sincerity. An Artist of the Floating World employs the clear, dispassionate descriptions of middle-class life that characterize realist texts, but depicts a world in which any idea of truth is undermined by the shifting nature of memory and popular understandings of history. In this way it combines the language of realism with the fractured picture of reality typical of postmodern texts. The novel does not have the cynicism often associated with Postmodern novels and for this reason, can be seen to combine elements of Postmodernism with an earnest desire to depict life as it really is, which is characteristic of realism. Texts that combine these characteristics have sometimes been grouped together under the rubric the “New Sincerity.”
• Genre: Realist Fiction
• Setting: An unnamed city in Japan in the years following the end of the Second World War.
• Climax: At Noriko’s miai, Ono tells the Saitos that he admits making mistakes in his career.
• Antagonist: Pride; Nationalism
• Point of View: First-person

Extra Credit for An Artist of the Floating World

Reluctant Representative. Because Ishiguro left Japan at the age of five and did not live through the events he describes, he has expressed discomfort with the use of his novels as source texts for understanding post-war Japanese experience. Instead, he sees works like An Artist of the Floating World as works set in post-war Japan that tackle universal themes.

Dylan as Literature. Ishiguro has said he would not be a writer if he hadn’t discovered the lyrics of folk singer Bob Dylan when he was a teenager. Despite being a musician, not a poet or novelist, Dylan controversially won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2016, one year before Ishiguro.

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Essay Prompts

An artist of the floating world.

To what extent does An Artist of the Floating World  show that there is no pure form of art?

What makes Ono an unreliable narrator of his own story?

Characters in Ishiguro’s novel fail to take responsibility for their actions. Discuss.

Some of the changing values within the An Artist of the Floating World are seen as positive. Discuss.

‘Suichi believes it’s better he [Ichiro] likes cowboys than that he idolise people like Miyamoto Musashi. Suichi thinks the American heroes are the better models for children now.’ To what extent does An Artist of the Floating World demonstrate the extent to which Japan accepted American influence?

In what ways do Suichi’s and Ichiro’s generations differ from Ono’s?

‘…And if on reaching the foot of the hill which climbs up to my house, you pause at the Bridge of Hesitation and look back towards the remains of our old pleasure district, … you may see the line of old telegraph poles … and be able to make out the dark clusters of birds perched uncomfortably on the tops of the poles, as though awaiting the wires along which they once lined the sky…’ In what ways is the Bridge of Hesitation metaphoric of Ono’s life?

How does Setsuko’s character exemplify the changing role of women in An Artist of the Floating World ?

Ono has more reasons to feel proud than he does to feel guilty. Do you agree?

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HSC Advanced English Mod B: Artist of the Floating Sample Essay & Essay Analysis

Subject: English

Age range: 16+

Resource type: Other

Last updated

8 June 2023

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This is a three-part resource for students undertaking the NSW HSC Advanced English Module B: Close Study of a Text.

A generic essay plan shows students how to compose an essay suitable for Stage 6, progressing them from the simpler PEEL/TEAL models of Stage 4 and 5.

A sample essay for the prescribed text, An Artist of the Floating World, answers the 2019 HSC question:

An exploration of unreliability, ambiguity, and contradiction.

To what extent does this view align with your understanding of An Artist of the Floating World?

• There is also a second copy of the essay, marked up to show how it follows the plan, and with five short questions which require students to engage critically with the essay and its form.

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An Artist of the Floating World

By kazuo ishiguro.

• An Artist of the Floating World Summary

An Artist of the Floating World tells the story of a former artist named Masuji Ono . Ono is both protagonist and narrator, and he provides a highly subjective account of the events that shaped his career, family life, and reputation, grappling with his past as he tells his story. Though the narrative leaps in and out of different periods in Ono’s life, from his first job to his childhood to his role working for the government in World-War II era Japan, the strongest linear thread revolves around the marriage of Ono’s daughter. In the years after the war, Ono works to negotiate a traditional arranged marriage for his younger daughter, Noriko . In light of a failed marriage negotiation for Noriko a year before, in which the groom’s family mysteriously pulled out at the last minute, Ono’s older daughter Setsuko suggests that he visit various old acquaintances. This way he can ensure that, if these acquaintances are interviewed about Ono and his family as part of the negotiation, they will provide positive testimony. Ono believes that Setsuko is politely telling him to find a way to make his past less of a problem, since his career before and during the war has destroyed his reputation. The exact nature of that career occupies much of the space in the novel.

Ono lays the groundwork by talking about his father, who destroyed his early paintings to prevent his son from becoming an artist and to force him instead to join the family business. Yet Ono chose to pursue his passion, and describes his first job in a factory-like studio followed by a second, more prestigious phase of his career working under an artist named Moriyama. Moriyama’s students lived together in a run-down villa, mimicking their teacher’s style, which emphasized aesthetics and technique and sought to portray the “floating world” of the city’s nighttime revelry. While becoming one of Moriyama’s favorite students, Ono was also pulled away from him through his encounter with a man named Chishu Matsuda . Matsuda, who believed that artists should engage with politics more, encouraged Ono to explore the world outside of Moriyama’s villa. He also took Ono to poor parts of town that Ono had never visited. This ignited a political awakening in Ono, who created several explicitly political paintings. When Moriyama discovered these, he refused to mentor Ono any longer.

However, the novel tells us in bits and pieces about Ono’s rise to success creating art that celebrated the “new spirit” of Japan. These works were nationalistic and portrayed military might. At the start of the war, Ono gained power working for a committee that censored unpatriotic art. He even reported on his own favorite student, Kuroda , causing Kuroda to detest his old teacher so deeply that he refuses to meet with him years later during Noriko’s marriage negotiations. In one flashback scene, Ono watches policemen burn Kuroda’s art, in an act that parallels Ono’s father’s burning of Ono’s paintings. However, Ono’s rise to power was cut short, since Japan lost the war and American troops subsequently occupied the country. It is from this period that Ono narrates. At the time of narration, he feels bitter towards the younger, more Americanized generation. He suspects that this generation hates his own generation for bringing about the war. He feels guilty not only for betraying Kuroda but for the premature deaths of his wife Michiko and his son Kenji, both of which occurred during the war.

At the end of the novel, Noriko has been successfully wed to a reputable man named Taro Saito. Setsuko tells her father that he has nothing to feel guilty about, since his paintings were well-liked but certainly not influential enough to cause harm. This is a difficult realization for Ono, since he feels genuine guilt for some of his actions, and since he would rather have a bad reputation than none at all. However, he begins to feel more fulfilled, little by little, after this conversation. When Matsuda, who has remained a friend, dies, he reacts calmly and without guilt. He recognizes features of the “floating world” in the manners of the young businessmen he once resented, and he focuses his energy on his beloved grandson, Ichiro .

An Artist of the Floating World Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for An Artist of the Floating World is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

Please help me with a plot for each page characters, theme and stylistic devices.

GradeSaver has a complete study guide for this unit readily available for your use. Simply navigate to the study using the title link at the top of the page.

Describe the character traits of major characters.

Ono is the novel’s protagonist and narrator. He is, at the time of the narration, an aging retired artist in post-war Japan. He has a somewhat mysterious past, which he reveals in small pieces, and it seems that his role in the art world once...

How did Master Takeda and Masjid Ono relate?

Ono worked for Master Takeda. During his time with Master Takeda, Ono learned that art is a process that belongs to the artist.... something that should not be created under factory-like conditions and deadlines. When Kuroda and the other pupils...

Study Guide for An Artist of the Floating World

An Artist of the Floating World study guide contains a biography of Kazuo Ishiguro, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

• About An Artist of the Floating World
• Character List

Essays for An Artist of the Floating World

An Artist of the Floating World essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of An Artist of the Floating World by Kazuo Ishiguro.

• The Use of Generational Differences in Order to Establish the Importance of the Floating World

Lesson Plan for An Artist of the Floating World

• About the Author
• Study Objectives
• Common Core Standards
• Introduction to An Artist of the Floating World
• Relationship to Other Books
• Bringing in Technology
• Notes to the Teacher
• Related Links
• An Artist of the Floating World Bibliography

Wikipedia Entries for An Artist of the Floating World

• Introduction

Mod B – An Artist of the Floating World – Essay

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Resource Description

Investigate the relationship between Ono and his father in Kazuo Ishiguro’s  novel ​An Artist of the Floating World.

Intro:Kazuo Ishiguro’s interest in relationships is at the forefront of his novel, ​An Artist of  the Floating World​. Masuji Ono, the protagonist, narrates memories spanning his  artistic aspirations, work as a propaganda artist and retirement. As he reflects on  interactions both recent and from years ago, one particular relationship is of interest.  Ono’s uncomfortable interaction with his father is marked by aloofness, subtle  dialogue and pressuring expectations. Through Ono, Ishiguro portrays behaviour  that imitates and responds to these interactions, demonstrating the formative effect  past relationships can have on a person’s present.

Ono’s father is reserved, even aloof – much like Ono. This is evident in his response to Ono’s artistic aspirations: ‘I’ve heard a curious thing from your mother.’ He expresses himself in a conservative manner to begin with, concealing the aversion that only surfaces as he comes to realise that Ono’s ambitions may be serious. It is worthwhile to note that he receives this news from his wife, not from Ono himself. Perhaps his ignorance is due to a lack of communication with his son; perhaps Ono withheld the information out of fear. If the latter, this would be justified. Ono’s father considers professional painting ‘a curious thing’. The adjective suggests that he does not consider it valuable, a suggestion confirmed by his later words. In the absence of dialogue between Ono and his father, Ono’s mother has to take on the role of communicator. As Ono narrates past events though, there is no other voice to provide missing information or a differing opinion. There is an obscurity to Ono’s story reminiscent of the father character. Ono decides not to ‘worry Noriko with details’ about his efforts concerning her marriage negotiations. It is similar to his omission to inform the reader of the emotions he must have suffered when his father burnt his paintings. The lack of communication modelled in his childhood is partially continued by Ono. This parallel suggests that his father has influenced him.

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