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1. Chapter 1 introduces the setting of the novel as being in San Francisco twenty years after World War II. What signs are there that there has been a different outcome to this war from the history as we know it?

The author gives the reader several signs that in this novel's early 1960s setting World WW II has had a different outcome.. Not only is San Francisco suffering from the destruction of the war, but the Japanese and Germans have taken over the United States. Minor signs such as marijuana being legal and Childan remembering "the former, better world" also exist.

2. In Chapter 1, the author introduces the characters of Mr. Tagomi and the Kasouras as clients of Childan through the juxtaposition of conversations he has with each. What do we learn about each as a result? How do these clients compare?

In comparing Mr. Tagomi to the Kasouras. we find they are quite different. Mr. Tagomi is an old man with old attitudes who comes off as cold and arrogant when dealing with Childan, an inferior. As Childan is listening to the "fussy, barely polite" Mr. Tagomi on the phone, the Kasouras enter his shop. The Kasouras, on the other hand, are younger, friendlier and more open-minded. They look at the American artifacts for their historical worth, not just as a valuable collector's item. "They smiled at him without any superiority, only kindness."

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