Sign of the Chrysanthemum by Katherine Paterson

1. Sign of the Chrysanthemumby Katherine Paterson Day 2 Discuss Chapters 1-3 Pre-reading Chapters 4-5

2. Question 1 Who is the main character and how old is he? Muna – 13

3. Question 2 What is the main character’s name? What does it mean? Who gave it to him? Muna – No name – Lord Yoshikuni (daimyo of Awa)

4. Question 3 Where does the story begin? Territory of Awa on the island of Shikoku – where Muna is a serf

5. Question 4 What is Muna’s greatest desire? To find his father and have a real name

6. Question 5 How will Muna recognize his father? By a chrysanthemum tattoo

7. Question 6 Who is Takanobu? A ronin who is travelling to Heiankyo on the ship that Muna is hiding in

8. Question 7 What is a ronin? Why does Takanobu become a ronin? Unemployed samurai – Takanobu says it was his choice, captain wonders whether he stole from his lord.

9. Question 8 What was Takanobu’s job on the daimyo’s boat? To protect the ship from pirates

10. Question 9 What does Takanobu do when he finds Muna? First he tricks Muna into thinking that he, Takanobu is a pirate, then he turns him into the captain as a stowaway.

11. Question 10 Who are Kawaki and Akiko and what do they do for Muna? Kawaki is a sandalmaker who offers Muna dinner and a place to sleep his first night in Heiankyo. Akiko is his daughter.

12. Question 11 How does Kawaki allow Muna to keep his pride and not feel like a beggar? He tells Muna that he can tell them the story of his journey from Awa as payment.

13. Chapter 4-5 Vocabulary

14. Chapter 4-5 Plot Summary • First event in chapter 4 • Muna witnesses a beggar fighting for dropped food on the street while waiting for Takanobu to wake up • Last event in chapter 5 • The swordsmith feeds Muna hot soup on New Year’s Day