The Man in the High Castle - Meditations (bigger version)

Nobusuke Tagomi is a mild-mannered bureaucrat who works in the Pacific States of America as a trade representative for the Japanese government. For much of the novel, he is concerned with orchestrating a meeting with the mysterious Mr. Baynes — it becomes clear that the two are involved in some kind of politically subversive activity. When they finally meet, Tagomi protects Baynes from a squad of Nazi Kommandos. He murders two of the men, which profoundly affects his outlook on life. More than any other character in the novel, Tagomi goes on a sort of moral quest: in the aftermath of the shooting, he struggles to locate an Inner Truth in his morally ambiguous reality. Ultimately, Tagomi concludes that “there is no understanding…yet [he] must go on living day to day anyhow.” Tagomi therefore links two of the novel’s most important themes: in recognizing that there is a lack of clear moral truth, Tagomi resolves to focus on quotidian, intimate life as opposed to large-scale historical action. In many ways, this recognition makes Tagomi the novel’s moral center—and that is reflected in the way he works against Nazi policy, even refusing to sign an extradition order for Frank after his Jewishness is revealed.