Chapter 1 Summary

Confessions of a Mask tells the story of a Japanese boy growing up in the World War II era. The unnamed protagonist struggles with his homosexuality and grows up isolated, consumed with fantasies of death and sadism. He attempts to create the illusion of normalcy by pursuing a relationship with the sister of the young man he's attracted to. Ultimately, the protagonist ends this relationship, realizing that he cannot have romantic feelings for a woman, but he remains unsatisfied and unfulfilled.

As the novel begins, the narrator is born to a fallen family. His once esteemed grandfather has resigned his post as colonel governor after taking responsibility for the misdeeds of a subordinate. The estate is lost, and so the extended family moves to a rented house in a poorer section of Tokyo. On January 4, 1925, the protagonist and narrator of the story is...