Nothing More Than Tasteless Propaganda

Many times in our lives we find ourselves faced with difficult decisions to be made. Some may choose to run and hide from the challenge at hand, while others our willingly to stand in the face of adversity. There have been times in my life when faced with a decision to make, and I must admit that I have changed from each decision as they have shaped my life and turned me into the person I have become today.

This is the case with the main character Masuji Ono in Kazuo Ishiguro’s “An Artist of the Floating World”. Ono is an aspiring artist with the drive to be successful. This drive to be successful ultimately changes the direction Ono is going when he decides that he will no longer be an apprentice to his Sensei, Mori-San, and that he will give up the artistic style of the artists of the floating world for that of a propaganda campaign. He makes this decision on the basis that his work will contribute to the greater good of the country.

At the time when Ono makes changes his artistic style, we see a corresponding change in attitude as well. He is excited to be painting during this crucial time for Japan. Even the Tortoise, one of the slower painters apprenticing for Mori-san, notices Ono’s change and states “it’s been a long time since I’ve seen you working with such intensity”. We see that Ono’s paintings gain much recognition and that he becomes highly respected member in the community serving on the Cultural Committee of the Interior Department. However as fast as Ono became a renowned artist we will see his fall with the loss of the war.

Ono change his lifestyle to better serve his country creating images of propaganda to capture and portray the Japanese military in all their might. However these images become nothing more then tasteless propaganda with the loss of the war. People’s viewpoints often change with the decisions they make. Ono after the war comes to terms with the art he created and admits his mistake, but if the Japanese would have won he would have continued to be praised for his work. Although Ono made a difficult decision to try and better his country, he is left to struggle with the changes taking place in post war Japan and the fact that he may be remember for nothing more than tasteless propaganda.