What exactly did the protagonist do in the war?

[Kressel]

I got that whatever he did was a shame to his family later, and I understood it was something about propaganda art, but exactly what was it?

[Hanis]

From what I remember, that's mostly it. There's the shame associated with being such an open supporter of the "bad" side, I suppose.

[Kressel]

So it's like German kids and grandkids being ashamed because the older generation were Nazis?

[Hanis]

Yea, that's how I read it. How did you see it?

[Kressel]

I was just clueless. Your way makes sense.

[Kathleen]

Ono left the world of decorative art and created 'master race' art to gin up support for militarism and war. He also turned his friends in to the authorities, rather like acting as a Gestapo informer were this a novel about Nazi Germany.

[Dawn]

Kressel wrote: "I was just clueless. Your way makes sense."

Thank you for posting this - I am so pleased it wasn't just me! It was all very vague and its good to know that the ideas I had were on the right track or at least on the same track as everyone else.

[J.]

It was supposed to be vague. The narrarator cannot admit his guilt to himself.

[Oscar]

It is like "The remain of the days" The protagonist think that he did something big and important and significant...

[Iva]

sorry for my english not my native, but I have some questions like yours, On one hand, I understood that his daughters were ashamed of his art in favor of the Japanese empire, but what his colleagues really reproached him was that he had painted some painting showing the world opposite to the floating world, that the real problem was his piece "complacency"; I didn't know what happened to it. Was it burned?