Of Cowardice, Responsibility and Nationalism in Post-war Japan: Re-mapping the Postmodern Ex-centric in Kazuo Ishiguro’s An Artist of the Floating World

The ‘ex-centric’ is derived from ek, which means out, and kentron, which means centre. The term is Greek in origin and signifies not having the earth as its centre of an orbit. Since the 17th century, it has been used to describe behaviour that deviates from conventional accepted styles. This concept interrogates facts of one world — the status quo — the world as it is and recreates it based on the mini-narratives. This paper examines the spaces that legitimise discourses of difference, focusing on marginalised or ex-centric characters within dominant ideologies as portrayed in Kazuo Ishiguro’s An Artist of the Floating World (1986), set in post-war Japan. The paper critiques the shifting dynamics of centre-margin societal patterns vis-à-vis art and artists in post-war Japan. Art, as a mode of expression, illuminates societal values and encourages people globally, yet its definition changes over time as many critics come up with multiple perspectives. Art in past decades had different implications than current scenarios. This paper critically appropriates art and its relationship with the individual in the postmodern era, interrogating the concept of centre and margin. Additionally, it examines the role of artists during wartime, focusing on the portrayal of the Japanese Empire in contemporary paintings. Ultimately, the study examines how the concept of the center is defined, shaped, and perpetuated through philosophical, empirical, and ideological frameworks.