General knowledge
Characters
Settings & Motifs
Context & Values
The Unreliable Narrator
400

Which '90s basketball legend has his own signature sneaker and is widely regarded as "the greatest of all time"?

Micheal Jordan

400

The protagonist and narrator of the novel, who struggles to reconcile his past producing imperialist propaganda.

Who is Masuji Ono?

400

The literal translation of Ukiyo-e, it refers to the transient, nocturnal pleasure districts that Ono's early art captured.

What is the Floating World?

400

The catastrophic global conflict that resulted in the physical and psychological devastation of Japan's old empire.

What is World War II?

400

The psychological defence mechanism Ono frequently uses to avoid the confronting reality of his guilt and culpability.

What is denial (or evasion)?

500

Who represented Australian in break dancing at the 2024 Olympic Games?

Raygun

500

Ono's youngest daughter, whose marriage negotiations serve as the primary catalyst for Ono's reflections on his past.

Who is Noriko?

500

The location where Ono frequently stands to observe the changing city, symbolizing his internal conflict between his past and present.

What is the Bridge of Hesitation?

500

The traditional Japanese formal process of arranged marriage, which dictates the strict social etiquette seen between the Ono and Saito families.

What is a miai?

500

Ono constantly shifts between the past and present, a structural device known as this type of narrative.

What is a non-linear narrative?

600

What continent is the Great Barrier Reef located near?

Oceania/Australia

600

A developmentally disabled man who is beaten up in the post-war era for singing the same patriotic songs that previously earned him praise.

Who is the Hirayama Boy?

600

The owner of the last standing bar in the former pleasure district, who acts as a physical anchor to Ono's past.

Who is Mrs Kawakami?

600

The ideological shift toward this political system, heavily influenced by American occupation, is fiercely debated between the older and younger generations.

What is Democracy (or Westernisation)?

600

Head or Tails 

Tails = 600 points 

Heads = -600 points

700

In which CITY would you find the "Colloseum"

Rome

700

Free Points !!!!

700 points

700

The imposing, prestigious home Ono acquired through an "auction of prestige," symbolizing his former high social status.

What is the Sugimura house?

700

The traditional master-student dynamic in Japanese arts that requires absolute loyalty, which Ono eventually rebels against.

What is the Sensei relationship?

700

The irony of Ono's narration is that while he claims to be a highly influential figure, his daughters often treat his past with this dismissive attitude.

What is indifference (or skepticism)?

800

Which four countries will compete in the upcoming Women's Rugby World Cup semi-finals? Hint: not Australia

NZ, England, France, Canada

800

Ono's former star pupil, who was imprisoned and whose paintings were burned due to Ono reporting him to the Committee of Unpatriotic Activities.

Who is Kuroda?

800

BOMB!

Choose a team to minus 500 points!

Did you choose wisely? 

If you did, you gain 300 points, if you did not you minus 300 points

800

The tragic path taken by Mr. Naguchi to "apologise to everyone who was left," highlighting the brutal accountability demanded by the post-war generation.

What is suicide?

800

The term used to describe a narrator whose credibility is compromised, requiring the reader to "read between the lines" to find the truth.

What is an Unreliable Narrator?

900

The capital of Canada?

Ottawa

900

The influential, nationalist artist who originally encouraged Ono to abandon traditional art in favour of political, imperialist propaganda.

Who is Matsuda?

900

Head or Tails

Heads = 900 points 

Tails = -900 points 

900

The aggressive, expansionist political ideology that Ono’s propaganda art, such as his painting Eyes to the Horizon, actively promoted during the 1930s.

What is Japanese Imperialism (or Nationalism/Militarism)?

900

Ono often does this to conversations from years ago, admitting he cannot recall the exact words but reconstructing them to suit his current narrative.

What is paraphrasing (or fabricating/editing)?

1000

What country gave the US the Statue of Liberty 

France

1000

The Name and Author of our text

An artist of the Floating World
Novel by Kazuo Ishiguro

1000

The name of the specific establishment in the pleasure district that Ono and his pupils used to frequent, which is now reduced to bombed ruins.

What is the Migi-Hidari?

1000

Ono frequently condones this traditional social structure, failing to recognise how intelligent and capable his daughters truly are in navigating the shifting post-war landscape.

What is patriarchy

1000

This character directly challenges Ono’s unreliable narration and inflated sense of importance by claiming that "no one was at all sure what Father meant" by his apology at the miai.

Who is Setsuko?