o Kaijima's family, even though his new job makes only a minimal impact on their financial situation.
Throughout the text, when referring to the locations in the small city where Kaijima relocates, Tanizaki uses initials instead of common nouns as place names. For example, he writes, "On a clear day beneath bright blue skies Mt. H., famous for its hot springs, and Mt. A., with its huge, imposing mass, could be seen" (Tanizaki, 1990, p. 105). The reason for this literary device is obvious. The author wants the reader to understand that he is not writing about a place in a specific locale. The events that occurred at the D. primary school in M. city could happen in any city, suburb, or rural area of Japan.
Kaijima finds that his classroom at D. Primary School is composed of a wider variety of students than was his class in Tokyo. Some of the boys are offspring of the town's industrial leaders, others come from middle-class backgrounds. Kaijima has taught the boys from the third grade, and now they are in the fifth grade.
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