Paper 107: Biopolitics of Memory and Moral Complicity: Negotiating State Hegemony and Ethical Subjectivity in Kazuo Ishiguro’s An Artist of the Floating World
Assignment of Paper 107: The Twentieth Century Literature: From World War II to the End of the Century
Biopolitics of Memory and Moral Complicity: Negotiating State Hegemony and Ethical Subjectivity in Kazuo Ishiguro’s An Artist of the Floating World
Academic Details:
Name: Chetna J. Bhaliya
Roll No.: 03
Enrollment No.: 5108250003
Sem.: 2
Batch: 2025-27
E-mail: bhaliyachetna4112@gmail.com
Assignment Details:
Paper Name: The Twentieth Century Literature: From World War II to the End of the Century
Paper No.: 107
Paper Code: 22400
Unit: 4
Topic: Biopolitics of Memory and Moral Complicity: Negotiating State Hegemony and Ethical Subjectivity in Kazuo Ishiguro’s An Artist of the Floating World
Submitted To: Smt. Gardi, Department of English, Maharaja Krishnakumarsinhji Bhavnagar University
Submitted Date: 3rd May 2026
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Abstract
This study examines Kazuo Ishiguro’s An Artist of the Floating World (1986) through the lens of biopolitics, collective memory, and ethical philosophy to explore the intersections of state power, personal memory, and moral responsibility in postwar Japan. Focusing on the protagonist Masuji Ono, the paper demonstrates how memory is socially and politically mediated, revealing the processes by which individuals internalize state ideology, negotiate complicity, and reconstruct ethical subjectivity. Integrating theoretical insights from Michel Foucault, Jan Assmann, Pierre Nora, Hannah Arendt, Emmanuel Levinas, and Achille Mbembe, this research argues that Ono’s narrative is a site of struggle where personal recollection, cultural memory, and moral accountability converge. The study highlights the complex negotiation between self-justification and ethical awareness, offering a nuanced understanding of memory as both a political and moral construct, and situating Ishiguro’s novel as a critical reflection on the dynamics of power, complicity, and historical consciousness.
Keywords:
Biopolitics of Memory, Ethical Subjectivity, Moral Complicity, State Hegemony, Collective Memory, Postwar Japanese Literature
Hypothesis
The hypothesis is justified because Ishiguro’s An Artist of the Floating World portrays Masuji Ono’s memory as neither purely personal nor neutral; it is shaped by social, political, and cultural forces. Biopolitical frameworks (Foucault, 1978; Mbembe, 2003) explain how Ono internalizes state ideologies, while collective memory theory (Assmann & Czaplicka, 1995; Nora, 1989) shows how his recollections reflect national narratives and moral expectations. Ethical theories from Arendt (1971) and Levinas (1989) reveal the tension between self-justification and responsibility toward others. By synthesizing these perspectives, the hypothesis captures the interplay between memory, identity, and moral complicity, demonstrating that Ono’s narrative is a site where personal, political, and ethical dimensions converge, making the study of his subjectivity a meaningful exploration of biopolitics and moral responsibility in postwar Japan.
1. Introduction
Kazuo Ishiguro’s An Artist of the Floating World (1986) offers a profound examination of memory, responsibility, and identity in postwar Japan. The novel’s narrative centers on Masuji Ono, an aging artist whose recollections of his career and personal choices reveal the moral and psychological consequences of supporting imperial ideology during the wartime period. Set against the backdrop of Japan’s transition from militaristic nationalism to postwar democratization, Ishiguro explores how individuals reconstruct their pasts in response to changing political, cultural, and ethical landscapes. This reconstruction is neither neutral nor purely subjective; it is deeply political, reflecting the influence of hegemonic state power on personal memory and moral consciousness (Foucault, 1978; Assmann & Czaplicka, 1995).
The present study argues that Ishiguro’s novel can be interpreted through the theoretical lens of biopolitics, as articulated by Michel Foucault, alongside complementary frameworks including collective memory, ethical responsibility, and moral complicity. Ono’s narrative functions as a site where competing discourses—state ideology, cultural memory, and ethical accountability—intersect. By interrogating his memories, the novel highlights how individuals negotiate complicity within dominant power structures, reflecting both the internalization of authority and the struggles of ethical subjectivity in postwar Japan (Mbembe, 2003; Arendt, 1971).
This paper integrates theoretical insights from Foucault on power, biopolitics, and governmentality (Burchell et al., 1991; Dean, 2010), Assmann and Nora on collective memory and lieux de mémoire (Assmann & Czaplicka, 1995; Nora, 1989), Arendt and Levinas on moral responsibility and ethics (Arendt, 1971; Levinas, 1989), and Mbembe on necropolitics (Mbembe, 2003). Together, these frameworks illuminate how Ono’s narration is not simply unreliable storytelling but biopolitically structured memory, shaped by social, historical, and ethical forces.
1.1 The Novel as a Reflection of Postwar Japan
Ishiguro’s work reflects the socio-political transformations in Japan after 1945, a period characterized by intense reflection on wartime responsibility and the restructuring of cultural and national identity. Postwar Japanese society confronted the tension between remembering and forgetting—the need to preserve cultural continuity while addressing the moral consequences of imperialist ideology (Igarashi, 2000; Syal & Kumar, 2024). Ono’s recollections embody this tension: he oscillates between pride in his earlier artistic achievements and guilt over his role in promoting nationalist propaganda. These oscillations underscore the ways in which personal memory is inextricably linked with collective memory, illustrating Jan Assmann’s argument that memory is socially and culturally mediated (Assmann & Czaplicka, 1995).
Moreover, Ishiguro’s narrative technique—first-person, retrospective, and fragmented—mirrors the process of memory reconstruction under biopolitical influence. By selectively recounting events, emphasizing certain achievements, and omitting uncomfortable truths, Ono demonstrates how memory functions as a site of both self-preservation and negotiation with ethical responsibility (Sutton et al., 2010). The novel thus not only depicts individual recollection but also reflects broader societal efforts to reconcile past complicities with postwar ethical imperatives.
1.2 Theoretical Framework: Biopolitics, Memory, and Moral Complicity
The framework of biopolitics provides a critical lens for understanding Ono’s ethical ambivalence and moral complicity. Foucault (1978) conceptualizes biopolitics as the regulation of life, bodies, and populations through mechanisms of power that extend beyond mere legal authority. Ono’s memory and self-perception are shaped by such mechanisms: his alignment with state ideology during wartime exemplifies the internalization of hegemonic norms, while his later self-questioning reflects the ethical dissonance of living under new moral frameworks (Meloni, 2022).
In conjunction with biopolitics, theories of collective memory and cultural identity underscore how individual narratives are intertwined with national history. Pierre Nora’s notion of lieux de mémoire emphasizes that memory becomes fixed in symbolic forms when lived experience fades, and in Ishiguro’s novel, sites such as Ono’s studio, his exhibitions, and familial spaces serve as repositories of both personal and collective memory (Nora, 1989). Simultaneously, Arendt’s reflections on the banality of evil (Arendt, 1971) and Levinas’ ethics of responsibility (Levinas, 1989) provide a moral-ethical framework for assessing Ono’s complicity. His failures to fully acknowledge the human consequences of his actions reflect the tension between self-justification and ethical accountability, a tension central to the study of moral complicity.
By situating Ono’s recollections at the intersection of these frameworks—biopolitics, collective memory, and ethical philosophy—this study demonstrates how Ishiguro’s novel engages with the complex negotiation of state power, memory, and moral responsibility. Ono is not simply an unreliable narrator; he is a biopolitically conditioned subject whose narrative reveals the ethical ambiguities and social pressures of postwar Japanese society.
2. Biopolitics and Governmentality: Theoretical Framework
2.1 Biopolitics and the Regulation of Life
Michel Foucault defines biopolitics as a form of power concerned with managing life, populations, and bodies through regulatory mechanisms (Foucault, 1978). Unlike sovereign power, which relies on coercion and punishment, biopower functions subtly through normalization, producing compliant and self-regulating subjects. This form of power is exercised not only through laws but through social norms, institutional practices, and cultural discourses that shape how individuals think, act, and remember.
In The History of Sexuality, Foucault emphasizes that modern power operates by producing knowledge, shaping discourse, and constructing subjectivities (Foucault, 1978). In Ishiguro’s An Artist of the Floating World, Ono’s recollections illustrate this dynamic: his memory is not purely personal but is deeply conditioned by the ideological environment of wartime Japan. His pride in his contributions to exhibitions promoting imperial values, alongside selective omissions of his involvement in propaganda, reflects how biopolitical power regulates memory. Ono’s narrative demonstrates how individual recollection is interwoven with regimes of truth—socially sanctioned ways of perceiving, evaluating, and narrating past events.
Biopolitics also emphasizes the everyday internalization of state control. Ono does not require external coercion to justify his past; instead, he exercises self-discipline and moral rationalization in line with nationalist ideologies. His careful framing of his artistic work and his selective remembrance reflect Foucault’s assertion that power becomes most effective when it is internalized and self-regulated, producing ethical and moral behavior aligned with state objectives.
2.2 Governmentality and Subject Formation
The concept of governmentality further clarifies how individuals internalize and negotiate power structures. According to Burchell, Gordon, and Miller in The Foucault Effect (1991), and elaborated by Mitchell Dean (2010), governmentality refers to the “conduct of conduct”—the ways individuals manage their own actions and choices according to broader rationalities of governance. It is not simply the imposition of external rules but the shaping of subjects who govern themselves in alignment with political, cultural, and ethical expectations.
Ono exemplifies this process. His earlier unwavering support for imperial nationalism, reflected in his participation in state-sponsored art exhibitions, demonstrates how subjects are molded to internalize political ideology. In the postwar period, however, he navigates a society that now condemns such ideology, attempting to reframe his past actions through self-justification and selective recollection. This demonstrates the dynamic nature of governmentality: as regimes of truth shift, so too does the way subjects regulate themselves.
Ono’s narrative becomes a site of self-governance and ethical recalibration. His attempts to reconcile past loyalty to the state with present moral expectations illustrate the tension inherent in ethical subjectivity under biopolitical power. Here, Ishiguro captures the subtle mechanisms by which power operates not through force alone, but through shaping consciousness, memory, and moral reasoning.
2.3 Necropolitics and the Aftermath of War
Achille Mbembe’s concept of necropolitics extends Foucault’s framework by addressing the ways in which sovereign power controls death and determines who may live and who must die (Mbembe, 2003). Although An Artist of the Floating World does not depict direct physical violence by Ono, the novel is set in the aftermath of catastrophic war, where state power had dictated life and death on a massive scale. Ono’s moral complicity lies in his indirect support of these systems through the promotion of nationalist ideology and valorization of wartime sacrifice.
Ono’s retrospective narration is therefore haunted by ethical responsibility, as he negotiates the tension between loyalty to the state and the recognition of the human costs of war. His memories reveal how individuals internalize the moral implications of systemic violence: even without directly killing, they participate in a social order that sanctioned death. The psychological weight of this complicity becomes central to Ishiguro’s exploration of postwar subjectivity, showing how biopolitical power extends beyond life-preserving regulation to include the subtle moral pressures of necropolitical awareness.
By linking biopolitics with necropolitics, Ishiguro highlights that memory, ethics, and subjectivity are not merely personal concerns but are embedded in structures of governance that manage both life and death, shaping not only what Ono recalls but how he interprets and narrates his past. This framework underscores the novel’s broader exploration of state power, moral responsibility, and the negotiation of ethical subjectivity.
3. Memory as a Cultural and Political Construct
3.1 Collective Memory and Cultural Identity
Jan Assmann’s theory of collective memory emphasizes that memory is socially mediated and essential for cultural identity, functioning as a shared repository that shapes communal values, identity, and historical consciousness (Assmann & Czaplicka, 1995). In An Artist of the Floating World, Masuji Ono’s recollections are not merely personal reflections; they are deeply intertwined with Japan’s broader cultural and historical narratives. His memories of artistic achievements, nationalist exhibitions, and interactions with colleagues are filtered through social expectations and culturally sanctioned interpretations of the past.
Ono’s shifting portrayal of his past—from pride in contributing to Japan’s imperial vision to tentative self-criticism in the postwar period—reflects the transformation of Japan’s cultural memory itself. Where wartime narratives valorized sacrifice and loyalty to the emperor, postwar society emphasized accountability, democratization, and pacifism (Igarashi, 2000; Syal & Kumar, 2024). This demonstrates Assmann’s claim that memory is reconstructed in response to contemporary socio-political needs, highlighting its dynamic and negotiable character. Ono’s attempts to reconcile personal honor with collective ethical expectations underscore how memory is both a tool for self-preservation and a medium for negotiating social identity.
3.2 Lieux de Mémoire and Fragmented History
Pierre Nora’s concept of lieux de mémoire, or sites of memory, emphasizes that memory crystallizes in symbolic spaces when lived memory fades, serving as anchors for collective identity (Nora, 1989). In Ishiguro’s novel, Ono’s house, his paintings, and the so-called Bridge of Hesitation act as symbolic repositories of memory, shaping both his self-conception and his interpretation of national history. These spaces are ideologically charged, reflecting the moral and political frameworks through which past events are interpreted and preserved.
For instance, Ono’s studio, filled with paintings glorifying the past imperial era, embodies not only aesthetic achievement but also the moral compromises embedded in cultural production. Similarly, family spaces, such as his interactions with his daughters, operate as loci where competing memories—personal pride, social shame, and generational critique—intersect. These lieux de mémoire illustrate how personal recollections are inseparable from national narratives, and how memory can both conceal and reveal uncomfortable truths about complicity and power.
3.3 Cognitive Dimensions of Memory
Memory is inherently reconstructive, shaped by perception, interpretation, and cognitive biases (Sutton et al., 2010). Ono’s narrative demonstrates selective recall, rationalization, and omission, reflecting the psychological work of maintaining a coherent self-image amid moral tension. These cognitive processes underscore the complexity of memory as a mediator between ethical consciousness and self-preservation.
Ono’s inconsistencies—his fluctuating acknowledgment of past complicity, the selective framing of events, and avoidance of direct moral confrontation—illustrate how memory becomes a mechanism for negotiating guilt and moral responsibility. The tension between recollection and omission mirrors the larger social need to reconcile historical narratives with contemporary ethical standards. Memory, in Ishiguro’s novel, is therefore both personal and political, functioning as a site where ethical dilemmas are continually reconstructed.
4. Moral Complicity and Ethical Responsibility
4.1 Arendt and the Banality of Evil
Hannah Arendt’s concept of the banality of evil highlights that ordinary individuals can participate in harmful systems without overt malice, often through bureaucratic obedience or cultural conformity (Arendt, 1971). Ono exemplifies this phenomenon. He does not view himself as a perpetrator of harm; rather, he perceives himself as a loyal citizen fulfilling duties that were normalized and valorized within his society.
Through Ono, Ishiguro interrogates how moral responsibility can be obscured by routine, professional obligation, and cultural ideology. The gradual emergence of self-reflection—his recognition of past contributions to harmful nationalist ideologies—illustrates Arendt’s argument that moral awareness is often absent in systemic wrongdoing, only surfacing retrospectively when regimes of truth shift. This aligns with the postwar Japanese context, where societal values were renegotiated and past actions re-evaluated through new ethical lenses.
4.2 Levinas and the Ethics of the Other
Emmanuel Levinas’s ethical philosophy centers on the primacy of responsibility toward the Other, arguing that ethics is rooted in the obligation to acknowledge and respond to another’s vulnerability (Levinas, 1989). Ono’s failure lies in his inability to fully recognize the suffering caused by his actions, particularly the indirect consequences of promoting imperialist ideology. While he experiences moments of guilt and self-questioning, these reflections remain self-centered, focused on reputation, familial relations, or personal integrity, rather than on the moral weight of harm inflicted on others.
Levinas’s framework helps explain the moral gap in Ono’s subjectivity: his limited ethical awakening underscores the difficulty of responding adequately to the demands of responsibility when memory and narrative are mediated by biopolitical power.
4.3 Ethical Subjectivity in Transition
The tension between Arendtian and Levinasian perspectives illuminates the complexity of Ono’s ethical subjectivity. He is neither fully culpable nor entirely innocent; his moral landscape exists in a liminal space shaped by social, political, and personal pressures. His narrative reflects the struggle to reconcile past loyalty with present ethical standards, highlighting the fluidity of moral understanding within contexts of shifting hegemonic frameworks.
Ono’s ongoing negotiation between self-preservation and ethical accountability illustrates the difficulty of confronting complicity under systems that normalize certain behaviors. Ishiguro thus presents ethical subjectivity not as fixed, but as negotiated, reconstructed, and morally ambiguous, demonstrating how individuals inhabit the gray zones of responsibility within broader historical and political forces.
5. State Hegemony and Cultural Production
5.1 Art as Ideological Instrument
Ono’s career as an artist exemplifies the intimate relationship between cultural production and state power. Early in his career, Ono’s paintings celebrated Japanese traditions and imperial pride, often commissioned for exhibitions that promoted nationalism. His gradual shift from purely aesthetic work to pieces imbued with nationalistic propaganda demonstrates how art can serve as a vehicle for hegemonic ideology (Korkmaz, 2023).
Ishiguro portrays this transition subtly through Ono’s reflections on his exhibitions and the critical reception of his works. For example, Ono recalls the praise he received for painting public monuments glorifying the imperial state, a pride tinged with later unease as postwar audiences view these works differently. Korkmaz (2023) interprets such shifts through the lens of the culture industry, suggesting that art is not neutral but a mechanism for normalizing state-sanctioned values, including militarism. Ishiguro’s depiction of Ono’s career reveals how cultural production shapes collective memory and reinforces political ideology, even when the artist himself is unaware of the full implications of his work.
5.2 Postwar Cultural Transition
The end of World War II initiated a profound reconfiguration of Japanese cultural identity. Institutions, social norms, and moral values underwent rapid transformation, creating tension between past and present narratives (Syal & Kumar, 2024). Ono’s struggle to adapt to these changes underscores this tension. He confronts marginalization, as his former prominence in the artistic and social sphere is now questioned in light of postwar pacifist values.
Ishiguro illustrates these cultural shifts through Ono’s interactions with his daughters and neighbors, who challenge his nostalgic recollections and subtly criticize his past alignment with imperial ideology. These interactions reflect broader societal efforts to reassess moral responsibility and reconstruct national identity, showing how individuals negotiate personal memory in the context of collective historical revision.
5.3 Historical Context and National Narrative
Yoshikuni Igarashi (2000) emphasizes that national identity in postwar Japan was negotiated through both remembering and forgetting. Ono’s narrative mirrors this process: he selectively recalls certain events, such as his celebrated artistic contributions, while downplaying or omitting the more ethically troubling consequences of his support for imperial propaganda.
For instance, Ono often rationalizes his participation in exhibitions as serving “cultural preservation” rather than acknowledging their complicity in wartime nationalism. His selective memory creates a personalized version of history, functioning as a microcosm of Japan’s broader struggle to reconcile pride in cultural achievements with acknowledgment of wartime complicity.
6. Narrative Form and Unreliable Memory
6.1 Narrative Ambiguity
Ishiguro’s choice of first-person narration is central to exploring memory and responsibility. Ono’s account is deliberately fragmented, ambiguous, and inconsistent, reflecting both the cognitive processes of memory and the moral tensions that shape recollection (Mason & Ishiguro, 1989). The narrative’s ambiguity forces readers to actively engage with the gaps, questioning what is true, what is rationalized, and what is omitted.
This instability aligns with Gregory Mason’s (1989) discussion of Ishiguro’s literary intention: the novel is less concerned with establishing historical truth and more with examining the subjective negotiation of memory within ethical and political constraints.
6.2 Dialogic Perspectives
Ono’s narrative is dialogic in nature; the perspectives of other characters—his daughters, former colleagues, and neighbors—challenge and contextualize his recollections (Ishiguro & Oe, 1991). For example, his daughter Taeko frequently questions his nostalgic idealizations, subtly introducing moral critique. These counter-narratives highlight the tension between subjective memory and intersubjective historical understanding, emphasizing that ethical and cultural memory is negotiated, not singular.
6.3 Canon Formation and Biopolitics
Maurizio Meloni (2022) observes that biopolitics increasingly shapes both social norms and intellectual canon formation. In Ishiguro’s novel, narrative itself becomes a site where biopolitical control is enacted: Ono’s memories are filtered through societal expectations of morality, honor, and cultural propriety. By portraying a character shaped by dominant discourses yet struggling to reconcile them, Ishiguro illustrates how biopolitical frameworks regulate not only behavior but also the very ways in which history and selfhood are narrated.
7. Negotiating Ethical Subjectivity
7.1 Self-Justification and Denial
Ono’s narrative frequently demonstrates subtle self-justification. He rationalizes past actions, emphasizing intentions over consequences and presenting himself as a loyal artist rather than a political agent complicit in nationalist propaganda. For example, he repeatedly frames his exhibitions as cultural preservation rather than instruments of ideology. This self-justification illustrates a broader human tendency to reconcile past actions with self-image, particularly under moral ambiguity.
7.2 Moments of Recognition
Despite his defensiveness, Ono experiences intermittent moments of recognition and ethical awareness. These appear when he reflects on the impact of his actions on younger generations or confronts the moral critiques posed by his daughters and peers. Such moments, though limited, reveal the possibility of moral reflection within biopolitical constraints, showing that ethical subjectivity is negotiated rather than fixed.
7.3 The Limits of Redemption
The novel offers no clear resolution or path to redemption. Ono’s partial acknowledgment of guilt underscores that ethical subjectivity is an ongoing, unresolved process. His attempts to justify, rationalize, and reconcile his past remain incomplete, reflecting the inherent tension between memory, responsibility, and identity. Ishiguro’s text thereby illustrates that moral reckoning is contingent on both internal reflection and societal context, and that complicity cannot be fully resolved through self-narrative alone.
8. Synthesis: Biopolitics of Memory and Moral Complicity
The integration of biopolitics, memory studies, and ethical philosophy provides a comprehensive lens through which to interpret Kazuo Ishiguro’s An Artist of the Floating World. Individually, each framework sheds light on aspects of Ono’s character and narrative; together, they reveal the interconnectedness of personal memory, state power, and ethical responsibility, demonstrating that Ono’s story is not merely a private reflection but a deeply political and moral exploration.
8.1 Biopolitics and the Shaping of Subjectivity
Foucault’s concept of biopolitics illuminates how Ono’s subjectivity is not formed in isolation but is deeply shaped by social and political structures (Foucault, 1978; Burchell et al., 1991; Dean, 2010). Ono’s recollections demonstrate the internalization of state ideologies his pride in nationalist exhibitions, his justification of wartime cultural production, and his cautious negotiation of postwar morality all reveal the subtle influence of power on his memory and ethical reasoning.
For instance, Ono’s reflections on his contributions to exhibitions glorifying imperial Japan show that his sense of self-worth and professional identity were historically aligned with hegemonic ideals. In the postwar period, when these values are questioned, he experiences ethical dissonance, illustrating Foucault’s notion that biopolitical power regulates not only bodies but also thought, morality, and memory.
8.2 Collective Memory and Socially Constructed Narratives
Theories of collective memory further contextualize Ono’s narrative within broader cultural and historical processes (Assmann & Czaplicka, 1995; Nora, 1989). Ono’s memories are not purely subjective; they are socially mediated and shaped by the expectations of family, community, and nation. Sites such as his home, studio, and paintings operate as lieux de mémoire, crystallizing ideological and historical narratives that influence both his self-perception and the collective understanding of Japan’s wartime past.
Ono’s selective recall—highlighting achievements and omitting ethical transgressions—reflects the negotiation between personal and national memory. Ishiguro demonstrates how memory is reconstructed to reconcile past actions with contemporary moral and cultural frameworks. The novel thus portrays memory as a dynamic, contested space, where individual recollection is inseparable from social and political pressures.
8.3 Ethical Philosophy and the Ambiguity of Responsibility
Ethical frameworks provided by Hannah Arendt and Emmanuel Levinas illuminate the moral dimensions of Ono’s recollections (Arendt, 1971; Levinas, 1989). Arendt’s concept of the banality of evil explains how ordinary individuals, including Ono, can participate in harmful systems without malicious intent, while Levinas emphasizes the obligation to the Other, highlighting the ethical incompleteness of Ono’s self-reflection.
Ono recognizes some of his complicity but often limits this acknowledgment to self-preservation, failing to fully account for the suffering of others. These ethical ambiguities illustrate the complex negotiation of moral responsibility, demonstrating that personal memory and ethical awareness are constrained by both internalized power structures and social norms.
8.4 Intersection of Biopolitics, Memory, and Ethics
By synthesizing these frameworks, it becomes evident that Ono’s narrative is a site of struggle, where competing discourses—state power, collective memory, and moral accountability—intersect. Biopolitics shapes the conditions of memory; collective memory structures the narrative socially and culturally; and ethical philosophy provides the criteria for evaluating responsibility and complicity.
For example, when Ono nostalgically recounts his participation in exhibitions, we see biopolitics shaping his sense of duty, collective memory influencing what is remembered and omitted, and ethical philosophy revealing the moral gaps in his self-justification. Ishiguro’s novel demonstrates that memory, morality, and subjectivity are inseparable and mutually constitutive, offering a profound reflection on how individuals negotiate complicity, identity, and historical consciousness in the aftermath of systemic power and violence (Mbembe, 2003; Meloni, 2022).
8.5 Concluding Synthesis
Ultimately, Ishiguro portrays Ono’s recollections as a complex interplay of personal and political forces, where memory is both constructive and constraining, and moral responsibility is mediated by social, cultural, and historical pressures. The novel underscores that ethical subjectivity is never fully realized; it is continually negotiated within the overlapping terrains of power, history, and memory. This synthesis demonstrates the novel’s significance not only as a work of literature but also as a critical exploration of the intersections between biopolitics, collective memory, and moral complicity in postwar Japan.
9. Conclusion
Kazuo Ishiguro’s An Artist of the Floating World offers a profound examination of how memory, power, and morality intersect in postwar Japan. Through Masuji Ono, the novel shows that personal recollection is shaped by state hegemony, cultural memory, and ethical constraints, making memory itself a political and moral site.
This study demonstrates that Ono’s narrative is a biopolitical construction, where self-justification, selective memory, and moral hesitation reflect the pressures of social, historical, and ethical frameworks (Foucault, 1978; Assmann & Czaplicka, 1995; Arendt, 1971; Levinas, 1989). By synthesizing theories of biopolitics, collective memory, and ethical responsibility, the analysis highlights that Ono’s story is not merely personal but deeply intertwined with national narratives and moral complicity.
Ishiguro’s novel thus becomes a critical site for exploring how individuals negotiate responsibility, identity, and historical consciousness, showing that ethical subjectivity is complex, contested, and continually reconstructed in response to societal and political pressures.
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