Ono’s elder daughter asks him to visit his “old acquaintances” such as Kuroda, his formal pupil, so that no “misunderstandings” arise in the marriage prospects of his younger daughter with Saito family whose “detective” might meet the acquaintances before Ono does (1986, p. 49). Why does she ask him his to do this? Although it is not made but clear but there is a hint that in the last marriage prospect the other party “pulled out” because of the association of Ono with something of the past (Ishiguro, 1986, p. 29). In fact, the whole idea of buying a large house as the present one he lives in, had to do with the notion of marriage of his daughters in mind. When he began to earn enough money, he tells us, his wife “pressed him to buy a new house” (1986, p. 1).  Perhaps the narratee, who is new to the city, is a marriage prospect for his daughter.