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These are the recollections of Masuji Ono, an ageing painter taking stock of his past and the decisions informing it, especially during the Pacific War.


Surprise Attack of Naval Paratroops at Manado, MIYAMOTO Saburo, 1943


STYLE :

Throughout, you are following Ono's loose thoughts about himself, his family, his pupils, the past.
In a sense, the title 'An Artist of the Floating World' is somewhat self-explanatory, as Ono is constantly drifting from one memory to another and back to the present (comparing his pupils with his former schoolmates, now his behaviour with master Mori and Kuroda's towards him, now places as they are and places as they were...).

You get accustomed to a strange, oblique but lifelike way to look at things, sheding light on certain events, casting shadows on other parts. Also, the same as a millstone, this whole rambling rumination grinds away one shallow layer after another, until Ono is left with a more proper appreciation of his life (if not the bare core of events as they have happened in truth).

What is left unsaid, innuendo, biting irony, double-entendres, is rendered in such a way that you can fancy you were attending family reunions, in the flesh.


THEMES :

The story begins as retired Ono tells us about his stately house and how, a modest man, he came to acquire it. Currently leading an uneventful life, Ono resolves to carry out an extensive survey of his life. He sets his course : to the depths.


The Americanization of Japan

This is October, 1948, and Japan is increasingly modelled after standards set by the United States, a country the youth and the younger generations look up to. Masuji Ono's grandson, wayward Ichiro, comes out as the embodiment of this fascination : he is a sucker for the Lone Ranger, Popeye Sailorman... On the contrary, he is not so much keen on the fearsome lizard Godzilla, often seen as an impersonation of Japan reborn as a mighty nation.

In the aftermath of WW2, defeated Japan rebuilds painstakingly. The world goes its own way, eventually driving the most obdurate Japanese to take changes into account. That goes with a certain uneasiness about what is to become of the past.

'Of course, of course. And I've no doubt your new leaders are the most capable of men. But tell me, Taro, don't you worry at times we might be a little too hasty in following the Americans? I would be the first to agree many of the old ways must now be erased for ever, but don't you think sometimes some good things are being thrown away with the bad? Indeed, sometimes Japan has come to look like a small child learning from a strange adult.' - p.185

Masuji Ono remains unflinchingly attached to the past. He haunts the same garden, district and inn he used to visit 'in olden days'. Unfortunately, it amounts now to hanging out in the unaccountable ruins of a disfigured city :

'Coming out of Mrs Kawakami's now, you could stand at her doorway and believe you have just been drinking at some outpost of civilization. All around, there is nothing but a desert of demolished rubble. Only the backs of several buildings far in the distance will remind you that you are not so far from the city centre. (...) So now that side of the street is nothing but ruble. No doubt the authorities have their plans, but it has been that way for three years. The rain collects in small puddles and grow stagnant amidst the broken brick. (...) The buildings on Mrs Kawakami's own side of the street have remained standing, but are unoccupied (...), a situation which makes her uncomfortable. If she became suddenly rich, she often tells us, she would buy up those properties and expand. In the meantime, she waits for someone to move into them; she would not mind if they became bars just like hers, anything provided she no longer had to live in the midst of a graveyard.' - P.26-27

As you are being told about the good old days, you can sense embarassment, uneasiness and guilt emerging.

'It’s hard to appreciate the beauty of a world when one doubts its very validity', and Ono feels an undermining uncertainty and underlying guilt as to his career choices during wartime. Chances are Ono portrays himself as something of an imposter, from page one.


What becomes of legacy?

Come peace, considering the fate of things past, left to rot or done away with, uprooted as a district no longer wanted, an elderly man will easily come to fear for himself as his own passing away draws near. Accordingly, Ono wants to secure his contribution in the world, and he ponders what to make out of it. This is a chief concern in this novel. What one owes to one's own past. An Artist of the Floating World is about faithfulness to models and masters, as it is about being faithful to the idea you hold about yourself.


What it takes to assess yourself : Taking stock of change, rejecting it, embracing it.

'They are some who would say it is people like myself who are responsible for the terrible things that happened to this nation of ours. As far as I'm concerned, I freely admit I made many mistakes. (...) My paintings, my teachings. As you see, Dr Saito, I admit this quite readily. All I can say is that at the time I acted in good faith. I believed in all sincerity I was achieving good for my fellow countrymen. But, as you see, I am now not afraid to admit I was mistaken.' - p.123-124

ON JAPANESE PROPAGANDA ART

Ironically, it appears Japan authorities have given precedence to western techniques in propaganda posters :

Source : Propaganda Painted by Masters: Japanese Art and Photography During the Fifteen Year War BY KAREN BREECE


Attack on Nanyuan, Beijing, MIYAMOTO Saburo, 1941

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BOOKS AND FILMS AKIN TO KAZUO ISHIGURO'S AN ARTIST OF THE FLOATING WORLD :

The School of Flesh - Yukio Mishima, the story of three wealthy widows looking for partners during the era of frantic modernization of Japan in the 60s :

L'école de la chair
/review/show...


No Longer Human - Osamu Dazai, an estranged and decadent artist, his downfall, modelled after Osamu Dazai's :

La Déchéance d'un homme
/review/show...


Under the Flag of the Rising Sun - Kinji Fukasaku, The investigation led by a war widow to prove her husband was no traitor to the Japanese army during the Pacific War.
Disclaimer : this film displays graphic violence and features disturbing scenes.