ill hold for the rest of his life: "in the end he lost all his earlier determination to succeed and make a name for himself" (Tanizaki, 1990, p. 104).
In moving from Tokyo to a small suburban town, Kaijima hopes to escape the class distinctions that overwhelm him with feelings of guilt about his inability to provide his family with a luxurious lifestyle. In Tokyo, Kaijima's students all came from middle-class backgrounds. Some were even children of nobility and high-ranking officials. The contrast between the relative poverty of his own children and the wealth of his elite pupils is painful for Kaijima.
In the hierarchy of Japanese society during this period, Kaijima was technically a member of the middle class. Japan was approaching the period of the maturing of capitalist society. About 2.5 percent of the population belonged to the ruling class, 30 percent to the intermediate class, and 70 percent to the dominated class. Capitalists made up the core of the upper class, which included large landlords, politicians, and high-ranking officials. The intermediate class was divided into two sectors: the old middle class (small landlords, businessmen, retailers, and factory owners) and the new middle class (officials, teachers, and white-collar workers). The lower, dominated class consisted of farmers, traders, self-employed workers, and manual laborers (Fukutake, 1989, pp. 57-59).
Kaijima's poverty is caused partly by his isolation from his larger kinship network, a fact that makes him an anomaly in Japanese society. Had he been connected to his kin, they may have been able to assist him during his time of dire financial need. The only extended family member in Kaijima's household is his widowed mother, who lacks the ability to contribute to its wealth. In Tokyo, Kaijima and his family live in squalor in a back-alley tenement. The open skies and healthful environment of M. city bring an immediate sense of relief t...