Memory and Diasporic Spaces: The Imaginaire in Kazuo Ishiguro’s An Artist of the Floating World (1986)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33806/ijaes988Keywords:
diaspora, Floating World, memory, narrative tapestry, space, the imaginaireAbstract
This qualitative study examines spaces of the imaginaire in Kazuo Ishiguro’s An Artist of the Floating World. It argues that protagonist Masuji Ono’s diasporic identity is constructed through narrative spaces. His house serves as the central locus and primary narrative space. Employing a spatial framework, the analysis demonstrates how physical places within the house and related spaces like bars and bridges function as active agents. These spaces structure memory, history, and identity formation. They thereby generate and shape the novel’s exploration of diasporic consciousness. Moving beyond temporal or psychological approaches, this study offers a significant new spatial framework for analyzing diaspora in Ishiguro's work. Its implications contribute substantially to diaspora studies, memory studies, and Ishiguro scholarship. It does this by demonstrating literary space's foundational role in articulating displacement and belonging.
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