The Setting Sun

Kazuko is the narrator of the novel. How does the novel use different narrative modes to deepen her characterization and/or to help illuminate some of the key themes and ideas in the text?

In the novel, both Naoji and Uehara experience dependencies on opium and alcohol. How does the novel explore the nature and effects of dependency? How do these instances of substance misuse reflect the novel’s interest in illness and decay more generally?

Death is an important motif in the novel. How do the various deaths—of Kazuko’s father, the stillbirth, her mother, and Naoji—shape the narrative? What is the symbolic role of each?

How does the novel explore the contrast between rural and urban environments? How are Tokyo and Izu described as settings, and what is the wider significance of each?

Examine how ideas of love and sexuality function in the text. What role do love and sex play in Kazuko’s character arc and sense of self? How do her ideas about intimate relationships change during the narrative?

Analyze the appearances of prophecies and omens in The Setting Sun. What are some of these prophecies and omens? How do they tie into the novel’s wider exploration of the tensions between agency and fate?

Compare and contrast The Setting Sun with Dazai’s No Longer Human, which was published about a year after The Setting Sun. In what ways are the two texts similar or different in terms of their characterization, key themes, or narrative?

The novel takes place not long after World War II. How is the war and its effects represented in the text?