Similar to "A Pale View of Hills," this novel is propelled by the memories of a narrator reflecting on his life. However, Kazuo Ishiguro employs this technique differently in "An Artist of the Floating World." Unlike the previous work, which unfolds over a relatively brief period, Ono's recollections are divided into four sections covering a year and eight months. This structure allows him to reconsider various issues over time. The narration is conversational, with transitions to the past often marked by phrases like "However, I see I am drifting" and "But I am digressing."

Ishiguro also explores the subjectivity of experience in his storytelling. Readers are left to ponder whether Ono was truly as significant to the war effort as he claims, or if his daughter Setsuko is correct in saying that no one understands why he feels the need to apologize for his past actions. While the former scenario may be more dramatically compelling, the differing interpretations of events by various characters reflect a psychological realism that resonates with our own experiences.

Masuji Ono, the narrator of this novel, utilized his artistic abilities to endorse the imperialistic ambitions of the Japanese military during World War II. In the post-war years, he, along with his students, family, and nation, must grapple with comprehending the actions of their country. Throughout the novel, Ono comes to the realization that employing his art as a tool for militaristic propaganda, along with his personal conduct, has resulted in serious repercussions for both his country and those close to him.

Through Ono's storytelling, Ishiguro once more utilizes a character who examines the details of their life in search of answers, a common element in much first-person fiction. As these characters recount their stories, Nick Carraway in F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby (1925), Jake Barnes in Ernest Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises (1926), and Ira Holloway in Robert Olen Butler's They Whisper (1993) each gain a new understanding of their lives, leading to subtle personal transformations. Similarly, Ono becomes aware of his involvement with the imperialists responsible for leading Japan into a catastrophic war, marking a change in his perspective.

In this novel, Ishiguro continues to hone his technique of using an unreliable narrator, whose interpretation of the novel's events might be influenced by personal experiences, thereby altering the narrative they convey. Huck Finn in Mark Twain's novel is an example of such an unreliable narrator. The most renowned modern instance of unreliable narration is found in Ford Madox Ford's The Good Soldier (1915), which An Artist of the Floating World echoes through Ono's evolving awareness over time.

"An Artist of the Floating World," similar to "A Pale View of Hills" and "The Remains of the Day" (1989), explores themes such as loyalty, unquestioning obedience, and the fallibility of memory. Ishiguro further experiments with unreliable narration, a technique he refines in his subsequent novel, "The Remains of the Day."