1. Why do you think Kiyama characterizes himself and his friends as outsiders? Do you think they are? Are they any different than most young people their age? Since they live in a different culture, how would you be able to tell if they were different, given that you mostly have Kiyama's point of view?

2. Societies exist because people agree, over long periods of time, on how they will treat each other. Each society has rules and expectations, some that change and some that stay the same, which children learn as they grow up. But each society also has its problems, areas where the customs or institutions don't help individuals as well as they could. Do you think, as Yumoto has indicated, that Kiyama's modern Japan has failed him in some way? Why do you think his mother drinks?

3. The educational system in Japan is...