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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What did Kazu's mother tell him on the night of Koichi's funeral?
(a) Kazu was a terrible father.
(b) Koichi was just like Kazu.
(c) Kazu never had any luck.
(d) Koichi loved his father very much.

2. What are some things Kazu says about himself and his life at the start of the story?
(a) He made a lot of money and was very generous.
(b) He lacked confidence and had bad luck.
(c) He was confident and quite a lady's man.
(d) He was a well-dressed intellectual.

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

4. Why did Kazu stay outside of Ueno Station when he was alive?
(a) He was homeless and that is where many homeless people lived.
(b) He sold watches and jewelry outside the station.
(c) He worked as a ticketer at the station.
(d) He was a police officer assigned to patrol the area.

5. What do Pure Land followers believe happens to their dead?
(a) They are reborn as Buddhas and watch over their family every day.
(b) They are gone forever.
(c) They are reincarnated and come back to the same family.
(d) They return to visit their family once a year during Bon festival.

Short Answer Questions

1. What was Koichi's body covered with after the funeral service?

2. What would Kazu do to help his family during his time off from harvesting kelp?

3. What news did Kazu receive about his son just days before his death?

4. How old were Kazu's children when he left for Tokyo?

5. 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?

Short Essay Questions

1. Where was Koichi when he died, and how did Kazu find out about his son's death?

2. What was Kazu's first job in Tokyo?

3. What does Kazu's father say to the tax officials who came into their home and marked property to be repossessed?

4. How does Kazu feel about his life on earth as described at the start of Tokyo Ueno Station?

5. What did Kazu's mother tell him about his life after his son Koichi died?

6. Who is Osamu and how did his presence at Koichi's funeral make Kazu feel?

7. What did Kazu and his father, mother, and wife each do to support and feed the family around the time his first son was born?

8. How old was Kazu when he first began to work, and what did he do for work?

9. How does Kazu describe Shige?

10. Describe what happened when Kazu took his children to Haramachi during a festival for the Bon holidays?

(see the answer keys)

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