Post-War Melancholia

With centuries of history, Japanese literature has established itself as among the most influential and diverse literary traditions in the world. It boasts a long list of distinguished writers whose works have captivated global audiences, remaining integral to contemporary literary discourse and scholarship. Lady Murasaki Shikibu’s 源氏物語 (Genji monogatari; trans. The Tale of Genji) is often considered the first, if not one of the earliest, novels ever written. This underscores Japanese literature’s pivotal role in shaping the literary landscape. Over the centuries, it has accumulated a long and rich tradition that has given rise to some of the world’s most prominent literary forms and movements. The haiku and the I-novel are among them, their imprints indelible and enduring despite the passage of time. Japanese literature has also played a key role in the transmission of Japanese culture and aesthetics to the rest of the world. Its far-reaching influence within contemporary literature cannot be overstated.

Further underscoring this prominence are the writers recognized by various prestigious international literary prizes. The Swedish Academy has honored three Japanese writers with the Nobel Prize in Literature, often considered the highest achievement in a literary career. Yasunari Kawabata (1968) and Kenzaburō Ōe (1994) were the first two. Japanese-born British writer Kazuo Ishiguro completes the trio, having been recognized by the Academy in 2017. He was born in Nagasaki; however, due to his father’s profession, he and his family moved to Surrey, England, in the United Kingdom. His father, an oceanographer, had been invited by the British government to work at a research institute. Interestingly, Ishiguro initially aspired to be a musician, and writing was merely an afterthought. Nevertheless, he pursued English and philosophy at the University of Kent before completing a master’s degree in creative writing at the University of East Anglia in 1980, where Angela Carter became an early mentor and he studied under Malcolm Bradbury.

After completing his postgraduate studies, Sir Kazuo Ishiguro (石黒 一雄) first piqued the interest of the literary community when he contributed three short stories to the anthology Introduction 7: Stories by New Writers (1981). As the old adage goes, the rest is history. His early success prompted him to pursue full-length prose. This venture resulted in his debut novel, A Pale View of Hills (1982), which established him as a rising literary figure. He gained further recognition with his second novel, An Artist of the Floating World (1986). In many ways, this novel shares several similarities with his debut, more so than with his later works. It earned Ishiguro several accolades, including the Whitbread Prize, and was shortlisted for the prestigious Booker Prize—the first of four nominations he would receive from the award-giving body.

I could put down a scene from two days ago right beside one from twenty years earlier, and ask the reader to ponder the relationship between the two. Often the narrator himself would not need to know fully the deeper reasons for a particular juxtaposition. I could see a way of writing that could properly suggest the many layers of self-deception and denial that shrouded any person’s view of their own self and past.

Kazuo Ishiguro, An Artist of the Floating World

Set in an unnamed Japanese city shortly after the end of the Second World War, particularly between 1948 and 1950, An Artist of the Floating World charts the fortunes of Masuji Ono (小野益次), who also serves as the novel’s narrator. A retired artist, he has withdrawn from the rigors of public life. Once a figure of prestige, he now enjoys the comforts of retirement in a stately home on the outskirts of the city, where he lives with his younger daughter, Noriko. However, he questions whether he deserves the house, which once belonged to a renowned artist and which he won at auction. In retirement, he reflects on family matters: his wife, Michiko, and son, Kenji, died during the war, while his elder daughter, Setsuko, has married Suichi and moved away. The narrative oscillates between different periods, though its central focus revolves around Noriko. At the beginning of the story, Ono recalls a visit from Setsuko and his grandson, Ichiro, during which she raises concerns about Noriko’s marriage prospects.

Following the war, Ono worked on negotiating a traditional arranged marriage for his younger daughter. A year earlier, Noriko had been in marriage talks with a man named Jiro Miyake. However, his family mysteriously withdrew from negotiations at the last minute, leaving Noriko disheartened. Already in her mid-twenties, she is viewed by society as approaching an undesirable age for marriage. Nevertheless, her spirits are revived by news of a second negotiation, this time with Taro Saito. During Setsuko’s visit, she urges Ono to contact former acquaintances who might provide favorable accounts of him and his family if consulted during the marriage process. Ono recognizes her underlying concern: that his past may jeopardize the arrangement. In reaching out to these acquaintances, he also attempts to repair the family’s damaged reputation.

This raises a pressing question: what in Ono’s past could threaten the present? Confronted with uncertainty, he begins to reassess his life. His father had opposed his ambition to become an artist, even destroying his early paintings and pressuring him to join the family business. Nevertheless, Ono remained resolute and left home to pursue his passion. In the city, he initially supported himself by producing works for foreign buyers. Eventually, he attracted the attention of Mori-san, a respected artist and patron who took him on as a protégé. For seven years, Ono lived in his villa, studying under his mentor and striving toward an aesthetic ideal. However, as Japan moved toward nationalism in the 1930s, Ono became increasingly sympathetic to its ideology. He abandoned his mentor’s artistic principles and turned to producing propagandistic art aligned with nationalist ideals.

Apart from nationalistic ideals, Ono supported Japanese imperialism. Ono’s involvement deepened as he became affiliated with government institutions, eventually serving on the Cultural Committee of the Interior Department and acting as an adviser to the Committee of Unpatriotic Activities. During an ideological purge, he even informed on a former student, Kuroda. r. However, with the end of the Second World War and the collapse of Imperial Japan, Ono and his ilk lost their influence. He was tagged as a traitor. While the victims of state repression were reinstated and allowed to live normal lives, those who were tagged as traitors were denounced. Many of the leaders of the nationalist movement committed seppuku. Others who were involved in the movement were also executed. Ono, however, was spared severe retribution, as he had not directly participated in acts of violence or explicitly advocated for war.

I suppose I do not on the whole greatly admire the Tortoises of this world. While one may appreciate their plodding steadiness and ability to survive, one suspects their lack of frankness, their capacity for treachery. And I suppose, in the end, one despises their unwillingness to take chances in the name of ambition or for the sake of a principle they claim to believe in.

Kazuo Ishiguro, An Artist of the Floating World

As Ono gradually realizes, the past continues to haunt the present. With her marriage negotiations falling through, Noriko begins to resent her father, a sentiment of which Ono is keenly aware. Not only is time of the essence, but it has also become imperative that the second marriage negotiation succeed, as a third opportunity would be virtually impossible. He even begins to question whether he deserves to occupy the house in which he lives; it once belonged to a prominent artist, and he acquired it through what he calls an “auction of prestige.” As the narrative progresses, the house develops into a powerful metaphor. Before the war, it was well maintained and surrounded by a beautiful garden, much like Ono’s flourishing career as an artist. In contrast, the house now bears the marks of wartime damage, mirroring the unraveling of Ono’s life in the postwar period. Seeking to preserve his legacy, he retreats into retirement, spending his days attending to minor repairs while allowing much of the house to fall into disrepair. He also devotes considerable time to reminiscing about the past.

Yet as Ono grapples with his memories, he finds himself in a quandary, caught between the desire to assess his past objectively and the impulse to avoid regret. These competing desires are inherently incompatible. His perception becomes clouded by delusion and shaped by self-deception, rendering his narration self-serving. In this way, Ono emerges as a quintessential unreliable narrator. He attempts to conceal uncomfortable truths, suppressing his conflicted emotions while evading accountability. He avoids recounting certain pivotal events because he cannot bring himself to confront his role in them. Beneath this evasion lies a subtle but persistent fear that his legacy may be undermined, dismantled, or ridiculed. This fear casts a long shadow over his recollections, leaving even Ono uncertain about their accuracy. Is he to be understood as a hero or a villain?

As he navigates competing versions of his past, Ono’s memory becomes increasingly muddled. Determined to preserve his self-image and perceived legacy, he filters his recollections and challenges others’ interpretations of events. He insists that their perspectives differ from his own, raising the question of whether he is deliberately obscuring his guilt. More than that, one begins to question whether he is intentionally misrepresenting his life. In attempting to reshape his memories to protect his pride, he retreats further into self-delusion. The novel also engages with another dimension of memory: aging. As Ono grows older, he is compelled to confront his past. The house once again serves as a potent metaphor, reflecting both physical decay and the process of self-reckoning. As individuals age, they are often driven to reassess their impact on the world and on others. For Ono, the lingering fear that he has achieved less than he once believed only deepens his self-delusion.

Ultimately, the narrative raises the possibility that Ono is not only obscuring his guilt but may also be fundamentally misrepresenting his life. Through his interactions with others, he gradually comes to understand that many believe he escaped consequences too easily compared to his fellow nationalists and imperialists. At the same time, his story interrogates the role of the artist. Ono aspired to greatness but lacked a coherent artistic vision, shifting from one movement to another in pursuit of recognition. Although he prided himself on breaking away from his mentor’s influence, he comes to realize that he was not a true innovator but merely an acolyte following paths already laid out by others. His work, rather than being original, often reflected or amplified the prevailing—and at times troubling—impulses of society.

I have learnt many things over these past years. I have learnt much in contemplating the world of pleasure, and recognizing its fragile beauty. But I now feel it is time for me to progress to other things. Sensei, it is my belief that in such troubled times as these, artists must learn to value something more tangible than those pleasurable things that disappear with the morning light. It is not necessary that artists always occupy a decadent and enclosed world. My conscience, Sensei, tells me I cannot remain forever an artist of the floating world.

Kazuo Ishiguro, An Artist of the Floating World

Instead of creating a lasting body of work, Ono and his ilk produced mere propaganda. He was undoubtedly ambitious, but time revealed that he had little understanding of the kind of art he truly wished to create. This desire for relevance led him to produce works of only ephemeral impact rather than ones that could transcend time. Ishiguro thus underscores how reactionary art—art that caters to a specific political ideology—rarely endures. While such works may achieve acclaim, it is often short-lived. The passage of time ultimately renders them insignificant, as the world Ono once depicted in his art has “floated away.” This is a realization with which Ono struggles, as his legacy, both as an artist and as an individual, comes under scrutiny. Compounding the complexity of his recollections is the novel’s frequent shifting between past and present. This nonlinear narrative structure allows readers to gradually piece together Ono’s tumultuous career. Ironically, his selective and filtered perspective leaves room for doubt.

The novel also vividly explores the intricacies of family dynamics. In postwar Japan, tradition continues to hold significant influence, particularly in the preservation of family reputation. As Ono’s daughters subtly suggest, familial prestige outweighs individual standing. Ironically, Ono’s personal reputation threatens to undermine that of his family. Marriage negotiations serve as an effective lens through which this tension is examined, reflecting the broader social reluctance to associate with controversy. Ono’s understanding of how his reputation affects his daughter’s prospects is filtered through his perception of his professional life, creating an emotional distance that prevents him from fully confronting the issue. Moreover, the narrative highlights how unspoken truths and buried histories can destabilize familial relationships. The novel also engages with intergenerational conflict, both within the family and in the broader context of professional and societal change.

Ono’s personal unraveling is juxtaposed with a nation undergoing profound transformation following its decisive defeat in the war. An Artist of the Floating World captures the cultural and generational shifts reshaping Japan during this period. The war irrevocably altered the nation’s landscape, as traditional values began to give way to Western influences and modernization. Yet, while the country experiences sweeping change, Ono remains largely detached from these developments. His focus is confined primarily to the city in which he lives, as he vividly recounts its destruction and the disappearance of once-familiar landmarks. This limited perspective ultimately reinforces his preoccupation with his own legacy, rather than a broader understanding of the nation he once served.

Overall, An Artist of the Floating World is a compelling work by a Nobel Laureate in Literature. Ishiguro’s skillfully crafted novel offers a profound meditation on memory, responsibility, and the fragile construction of personal legacy. Through Masuji Ono’s fragmented and self-serving recollections, the narrative exposes the uneasy tension between truth and self-preservation, revealing how individuals reshape the past to shield themselves from guilt and regret. The novel also questions the enduring value of art shaped by transient political forces, suggesting its inevitable decline over time. At the same time, it situates Ono’s personal unraveling within the broader context of a nation in transition. In doing so, Ishiguro invites readers to confront the ambiguities of human experience—where the boundaries between honesty and self-deception, pride and remorse, remain persistently blurred.

It is hard to describe the feeling, for it was quite different from the sort of elation one feels from smaller triumphs – and, as I say, quite different from anything I had experienced during the celebrations at the Migi-Hidari. It was a profound sense of happiness deriving from the conviction that one’s efforts have been justified; that the hard work undertaken, the doubts overcome, have all been worthwhile; that one has achieved something of real value and distinction. I did not go any further towards the villa that day — it seemed quite pointless. I simply continued to sit there for an hour or so, in deep contentment, eating my oranges.

Kazuo Ishiguro, An Artist of the Floating World
Book Specs

Author: Kazuo Ishiguro
Publisher: Vintage International
Publishing Date: September 1989 (1986)
No. of Pages: 206
Genre: Historical, Literary

Synopsis

In the face of the misery he saw in his homeland, the artist Masuji Ono was unwilling to devote his art solely to the celebration of physical beauty. Instead, he envisioned a strong and powerful Japan of the future, and put his work in the service of the imperialist movement that led Japan into World War II.

Now, as the mature Ono struggles through the devastation of that war, his memories of his youth and of the “floating world” – the nocturnal realm of pleasure, entertainment, and drink – offer him both escape and redemption, even as they punish him for betraying his early promise as an artist. Drifting in disgrace in postwar Japan, indicted by society for its defeat and reviled for his past aesthetics, he relives the passage through his personal history that makes him both a hero and a coward but, above all, a human being.

About the Author

To learn more about Nobel Prize in Literature-winning novelist Sir Kazuo Ishiguro, click here.