Masuji Ono

Masuji Ono is a famous painter who once feverishly supported the war effort. He thought there was strength and a strong identity in supporting the war and the nationalist cause, by advocating the rights and obligations of the strong. This support is seen through the lens of Masuji Ono’s daughter’s marriage negotiations: it seems a negotiation fell apart once a previous year, and now his younger daughter Noriko is twenty-six, and in danger of remaining unmarried. The daughters are afraid his past is an obstacle to potential suitors, and over the course of the novel, Masuji Ono sets about discovering his guilt and complicity. When he ultimately takes responsibility for his support of the war, he dkiscovers his daughters and others are quite willing to forget it.

Akira Sugimura

Sugimura is the previous owner of the house Masuji Ono lives in, with its beautiful gardens...