LibGuides: An Artist of the Floating World: Home

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An Artist of the Floating World by Kazuo Ishiguro
ISBN: 9780571283873
Publication Date: 2013-02-07
A Japanese artist looks back on his life in this celebrated and prize-winning novel.
An artist of the floating world : Year 12 Advanced English module B : critical study of literature. Student book by Bosco, E.
Call Number: 823 ISH
ISBN: 9781925771411
Publication Date: 2020
An Artist of the Floating World: A Critical Study of Literature Student Book engages students in a detailed study of Kazuo Ishiguro's novel An Artist of the Floating World for the NSW Stage 6 English Year 12 Module B: Critical Study of Literature. It has been designed to improve critical knowledge, understanding, and appreciation of the novel as a literary text. In order to develop their own interpretation of An Artist of the Floating World, students will engage in a variety of activities that require them to respond to the novel in both critical and creative ways. This includes tasks that require students to compose in the imaginative, persuasive, and discursive styles of writing. By working their way through the different activities in this student book, students will improve their understanding of: the content of the novel, the ideas and issues Ishiguro encourages readers to think about, the language of the novel, and its structure.
The End of the Shoguns and the Birth of Modern Japan by Mark E. Cunningham; Lawrence J. Zwier
ISBN: 9780822587477
Publication Date: 2009-01-04
How did the end of the shoguns pave the way for modern Japan? Between the eighth and twelfth centuries, emperors ruled Japan. But powerful families gained the loyalty of the samurai - the emperors' warriors. In 1185 one local lord took control as shogun, leader of the samurai armies. for the next seven hundred years, the emperors were ceremonial figures, and the shoguns ruled Japan, banning interaction with the Western world. In the nineteenth century, Westerners demanded that Japan open to trade under the threat of invasion. Japan's shogunate realized it didn't have the military technology to fight them. When the shogun government made concessions to the Westerners, Japanese lords were outraged and returned their support to the emperor. the shogunate crumbled. In 1868 Emperor Meiji became ruler of Japan. He opened Japan to modern technology, and his military advisers created a global fighting force. the end of the shoguns, which led to the birth of modern Japan, was one of the world's pivotal moments.

YouTube

Kazuo Ishiguro discusses the difficulty of creating authentic fictional worlds, growing up in the shadow of the atomic bomb and the moral crisis of post-war Japan.

NHK is proud to present Nobel Laureate Kazuo Ishiguro’s 8K dramatization of “An Artist of the Floating World”, starring Ken Watanabe. The screening will be held with a 248-inch 8K screen and 22.2 multi-channel sound system. The story is set in post-World War II Japan, when the nation was gradually recovering from devastation. Told through the life of an elderly painter, it touches on the tragedy that arises from weakness in the human spirit and the comedy that arises from misconceptions.

LitCharts

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.

Useful Links

Existentialism is a Humanism (Jean-Paul Sartre, 1946) - Individuals are always able to choose a course of action, and even not choosing is a choice.
Contemporary Japanese Moral Philosophy (Takeo Iwasaki, 1956) - Explores the changing morals of Japanese society during WW2 and American occupation.
Truth, Post-Modernism, and Historical Revisionism in Japan (Tessa Morris-Suzuki, 2001) - Explores the impact of WW2 Revisionism on modern Japanese society.
No Homelike Place: The Lesson of History in Kazuo Ishiguro’s “An Artist of the Floating World” (Timothy Wrigh
Identity and Nation in Kazuo Ishiguro’s An Artist of the Floating World (Silvia Tellini, 2018)
Theme of Alienation in Kazuo Ishiguro’s An Artist of the Floating World and The Remains of the Day (Eva Blahova, 2016)
The Reader in A Floating World: The Novels of Kazuo Ishiguro (Valerie Purton, 1993)

Character Map

Course Hero

An Artist of the Floating World | Themes

Flinders University

An Artist of the Floating World (1986) looks back to Ishiguro’s first novel, A Pale View of Hills (1982) and anticipates his third, The Remains of the Day (1989). The painter Ono worries about a possible interference in his daughter marriage negotiations as a consequence of his support to the nationalist government, which compels him to undertake a self-evaluation of his career.

Medium

The story takes place in post World War II Japan and is written from the perspective Masuji Ono, an accomplished and esteemed artist, as he comes to terms with Japan’s swift and drastic transformation brought on by the post-war generation.

An Artist of the Floating World: Home