It is 1948. Japan is rebuilding her cities after the calamity of World War Two her people
putting defeat behind them and looking to the future. The celebrated artist Masuji Ono fills
his days attending to his garden his house repairs his two grown daughters and his grandson
his evenings drinking with old associates in quiet lantern-lit bars. His should be a tranquil
retirement. But as his memories continually return to the past - to a life and career deeply
touched by the rise of Japanese militarism - a dark shadow begins to grow over his serenity.
If you enjoyed An Artist of the Floating World you might also like Ishiguro's The Remains of
the Day now available in Faber Modern Classics.
