Grief and Hopelessness

The author explores grief and hopelessness as significant motivating factors in Kazu's life and the choices he makes, especially his decisions to move from his home to Ueno Park and to die by suicide. While Kazu's early adult life was challenging because he worked constantly and he was always away from his family, his emotional turmoil is exacerbated tremendously by the deaths of his son Kōichi and his wife Setsuko. The scenes in which Kazu describes coming to terms with these deaths in the immediate aftermath are deeply affecting. When Kōichi dies, Kazu is overwhelmed with regret and feels on the brink of death himself. “It was all over, but I was alive...” (75), he recalls. At the cremation ceremony, Kazu is so overcome with emotion he cannot speak and his father must thank the attendees for coming in his stead. Kazu's feelings...