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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. Kazu observes two women at the Ueno Art Museum barely looking at the pictures and instead discussing what?
(a) One woman's upcoming wedding.
(b) One woman's trouble finding a good job.
(c) One woman's pregnancy.
(d) One woman's situation with her soon-to-be ex-husband.

2. What was the name of the hostess Kazu met at the caberet club in Shinsekai?
(a) Mari.
(b) Yoko.
(c) Miro.
(d) Junko.

3. What monument did Shige tell Kazu was initially meant to be placed near the Imperial Palace but was deemed indecent?
(a) Statue of Times Forgotten.
(b) The grave of Shogitai.
(c) The Giant Buddha.
(d) The statue of Saigo Takmori.

4. Kazu sees an old man on the bench who looks very neat. What is it about him that makes Kazu believe he must be homeless?
(a) He has bags of ginkgo nuts.
(b) He is asking people for money.
(c) The hundreds of cans bagged up at his feet.
(d) He has a pile of old magazines beside him.

5. What had Setsuko told Kazu not long before her death?
(a) She knew she would die while the cicadas were singing.
(b) She felt she had lived a full life and it was time to move on.
(c) She felt sick and should see a doctor.
(d) She did not want to die before he did.

Short Answer Questions

1. Where did Shige tell Kazu the founder of the Kan'ei-ji Temple was from?

2. What are some other things people ask God for in the notes they leave at the temple?

3. What word does Kazu use to describe how Shige always looked?

4. How often did Kazu's daughter Yoko's family visit after Kazu returns home?

5. Who did Kazu think of when he and Setsuko attended the 49th day mourning ceremony for their neighbor?

Short Essay Questions

1. How did Kazu respond to the gift Yoko and Setsuko had given him for his 60th birthday and why?

2. What type of work might homeless people do to earn money either as day laborers or regular work?

3. Describe the homeless man Kazu sees on one of the "sarcophagus-like stone benches" (100). How does he know he is homeless? Why might others not know?

4. After Kazu discusses his return home when he was 60, he describes Setsuko's life all the years he was away. What does he say she did?

5. What happens to Setsuko seven years after Kazu returned home, and why does he blame himself?

6. What does Shige tell Kazu about the statue of Saigo Takamori near Ueno Park?

7. What does Kazu say teenagers had been doing to the homeless around when the homeless former realtor had died?

8. Describe the last night Kazu sees Junko.

9. Describe the night Shige invited Kazu to his hut for sake.

10. Why were the homeless often evacuated from Ueno Park and where would they go?

(see the answer keys)

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