View a FREE sample

This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. How much education did Kazu complete before going to work to help support his family?
(a) High school.
(b) Middle school.
(c) Elementary school.
(d) Some college.

2. How old were Kazu's children when he left for Tokyo?
(a) 21 and 24.
(b) 3 and 5.
(c) 10 and 12.
(d) 14 and 18.

3. Where is Kazu originally from?
(a) Toyko.
(b) Soma.
(c) Sapporo.
(d) Hiroshima.

4. How old was Kazu when he went to Tokyo to find work?
(a) 21.
(b) 43.
(c) 12.
(d) 30.

5. Where was Koichi found dead?
(a) In a park.
(b) In a jail cell.
(c) In his apartment.
(d) At his mother's house.

6. What is one thing Pure Land followers did that angered the natives in Soma?
(a) They prayed day and night.
(b) They built reservoirs.
(c) They honored their dead in a way the Soma did not believe in.
(d) They worked even during Nomaoi festival.

7. Why did Kazu ultimately decide to move to Tokyo to find work?
(a) His wife threatened a divorce if he did not make more money.
(b) He needed to help pay for his younger brother's education.
(c) He had always wanted to live in Tokyo.
(d) He did not like being around his family.

8. When was the only time bill collectors did not come to Kazu's when his children were young?
(a) On Mondays.
(b) On weekends.
(c) During New Year's.
(d) During dinner.

9. Who left a message for Kazu to tell him his son died while he was working in Hokkaido?
(a) His daughter.
(b) The police.
(c) His wife.
(d) His neighbor.

10. What is familiar about the jean jacket Kazu sees an old homeless man wearing while talking to a homeless woman about the lack of work?
(a) It used to be Kazu's.
(b) It belonged to Kazu's son.
(c) He had seen it in a magazine.
(d) It looks like Shige's.

11. Who is the author of Tokyo Ueno Station?
(a) Yu Miri.
(b) Haruki Murakami.
(c) Kazu Mori.
(d) Yoko Mori.

12. What were Kazu's ancestors known as?
(a) Zen Buddhists.
(b) Nomaoi Buddhists.
(c) Soma Buddhists.
(d) Pure Land Followers.

13. What does Kazu feel may be the only thing he left on earth?
(a) A sense of tiredness.
(b) Material objects.
(c) Despondence.
(d) Pollution.

14. What does the homeless woman tell the homeless man about Shige while Kazu watches them?
(a) He took off without a word.
(b) He died.
(c) He got a job.
(d) He got arrested.

15. Who did Kazu see at the Haramachi train station on August 5, 1947?
(a) Emperor Hirohito.
(b) His wife for the first time.
(c) Shige.
(d) His father.

Short Answer Questions

1. Why did Kazu's coworkers stop inviting him out for drinks?

2. Why does Kazu think of his family when he passes the Statue of Times Forgotten?

3. What word does Kazu use when he thinks of what Shige was like when he knew him?

4. What was done with Koichi's body, per the Pure Land custom?

5. How old was Kazu when he died?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 518 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample