The Setting Sun

Chapter 7 is the final letter written by Naoji to Kazuko on the eve of his death. He writes to her about his belief that every man should “have the right to die” as well as the right to live (153). Naoji writes about his struggles in life as an aristocrat. His desire to fit in among the common people at school failed; he was always an outsider. He tried so hard to fit in with other people that he became ostracized by aristocrats and common people alike. Neither group would accept him, which turned him “coarse.” 

Naoji writes about his weakness, the weakness of society, and the weakness of philosophy to describe this weakness. He sunk into opium dependency “out of a simple desire to escape from [his] own shadow—being an aristocrat” (158). The only thing which kept him alive, he claims, was his mother’s love. He could not bring himself to die by suicide if he feared that she would be hurt. He knows how much his death will pain Kazuko, but he believes that her sadness “will gradually dissolve” (159).

Naoji reveals to his sister that he has been keeping a secret: He fell in love with a woman, but he does not dare to speak her name, though he believes that Kazuko will quickly deduce her identity.