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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is Kiyoshi Manda's job?

2. How long has Gohtaro been lying to his daughter?

3. How old is Kazu?

4. What kind of drawing does Kazu specialize in?

5. What is the woman in white doing when Gohtaro is talking with Kyoko and Kazu?

Short Essay Questions

1. What has fatherhood been like for Gohtaro?

2. How does the subject of Kyoko's son Yohsuke come up in conversation?

3. What warning does Kazu give Gohtaro about remembering to drink his coffee?

4. What does Kyoko reveal about her brother's reaction to their mother's death?

5. How does the exchange between Kyoko and Kazu about Kazu's boyfriend characterize both women?

6. How did Kyoko end up becoming a regular at the café, and why does her son not come with her anymore?

7. How does the juxtaposition of the made-up lyrics to Miki's song with Kyoko's emotions after her confession about her brother highlight Kyoko's distress?

8. Which characteristics of Shuichi's give Gohtaro "grounds for faith" that Shuichi will quickly understand that Gohtaro has traveled back in time (31)?

9. When Gohtaro first sees Shuichi in the past, why does the gesture of putting his hand around his coffee cup cause Gohtaro to suddenly panic about his own ability to communicate?

10. How did Gohtaro end up raising Shuichi's daughter?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Now that you are aware of how difficult it is to translate Japanese literature into English, consider which specific passages of Tales from the Café might have proven especially difficult for Trousselot to translate. For instance, when Kyoko is introduced on page 7, Trousselot writes, "Obviously caring little for formalities with strangers, she spoke to Gohtaro casually, as if he was a familiar face." Do you imagine that this sentence was necessary in the original, Japanese, text? How did Kawaguchi probably indicate this aspect of Kyoko's character? Even with this explicit explanation, does the English text really convey the impact that Kyoko's unexpected and unconventional language probably conveyed in the original? Also, consider the many subtle, elliptical conversations between Nagare and Kazu: what might be missing from the English translation that the original Japanese could easily convey? Write an essay that considers these and other aspects of translation in Tales from the Café. Support your assertions with evidence drawn from throughout the text, and be sure to cite any quoted evidence in MLA format.

Essay Topic 2

In Tales from the Café, the cherry blossoms and bell cricket function as symbols of spring and fall. In a later story, a Christmas tree and Christmas cake indicate that winter has come. On the surface, the Christmas tree and cake seem very different from the other two seasonal symbols--they are predominantly associated with Western culture and Christianity, and are associated with a specific holiday rather than with the natural change of seasons. Do some research into the role of Christmas in Japanese culture and then write an essay that demonstrates why these symbols have more in common than it first appears. Show how Christmas symbolism, because of its particular history in Japan, is appropriate in a collection that uses seasonal symbols to stress the cyclical nature of hope and despair. Support your assertions with evidence drawn from throughout the text, and be sure to cite any quoted evidence in MLA format.

Essay Topic 3

Now that you have read Kawaguchi's complete collection, what moves do you see him making as an author to convince the reader to accept time-travel within his narrative? Does he take a more magical or scientific approach, or is it a blend of both? How do the café's "rules" for time-travel fit into this? How do details like descriptions of the café itself, the coffee ceremony, and the time-travelers' perceptions during the experience support your interpretation? Write an essay in which you analyze Kawaguchi's approach to time-travel and evaluate its impact on the reader. Support your assertions with evidence drawn from throughout the text, and be sure to cite any quoted evidence in MLA format.

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