Haruki Murakami is a Japanese writer born in 1949, one of the most widely translated contemporary novelists in the world. His work blends realism and the fantastic, exploring the loneliness and unease of the individual in modern Japan.
Frequently asked questions
Key Facts
- Born on January 12, 1949, in Kyoto, Japan
- Published his first novel, Hear the Wind Sing, in 1979
- Achieved international success with Norwegian Wood in 1987
- Published Kafka on the Shore in 2002, one of his most famous novels
- Repeatedly tipped as a contender for the Nobel Prize in Literature
Works & Achievements
His first novel, which won a prize for young authors and launched his literary career.
His first major novel blending detective story and the fantastical, it reveals his singular universe.
A novel of love and loss that became an immense success and made Murakami a national celebrity.
A sprawling novel weaving together everyday life, dream, and the memory of war, considered one of his masterpieces.
A dreamlike tale with two intertwined stories, it has become one of his most widely read books in the world.
An autobiographical essay in which he connects his practice of long-distance running with his craft as a writer.
A monumental trilogy, a worldwide success sold in millions of copies.
An essay in which he shares his vision of the writer's craft, of discipline, and of imagination.
Anecdotes
Before becoming a writer, Haruki Murakami ran a jazz club in Tokyo for seven years, the “Peter Cat,” named after his cat. There he served coffee by day and cocktails by night, all while listening to the music he loved.
Murakami recounts that the idea of writing a novel came to him all at once, in April 1978, while he was watching a baseball game at Tokyo's Jingu Stadium. The moment a batter hit a double, he suddenly knew he could write a book.
A passionate runner, Murakami has run a marathon every year since the early 1980s and has even run a 100 km ultra-marathon. He devoted an entire book to this subject, comparing the runner's endurance to that of the novelist.
A great admirer of American literature, Murakami has translated into Japanese authors such as Francis Scott Fitzgerald, Raymond Carver, and J. D. Salinger, of whose *The Catcher in the Rye* he produced a new version.
Murakami follows a very strict writing discipline: when working on a novel, he gets up around 4 a.m., writes for five or six hours, then runs or swims in the afternoon, and goes to bed early. He repeats this routine for months.
Primary Sources
Most of what I know about writing novels I learned by running every morning on the road.
Between a high, solid wall and an egg that breaks against it, I will always stand on the side of the egg.
Talent, you either have it or you don't. But concentration and endurance can be acquired and improved through training.
It was while watching a baseball game, on a beautiful afternoon in April 1978, that the idea of writing a novel first came to me.
Key Places
City where Haruki Murakami was born in 1949, the former imperial capital of Japan.
It was near Kobe that Murakami grew up; there he discovered Western literature and jazz in the bookshops and record stores of the cosmopolitan port.
Murakami studied theater and film here starting in 1968, during the period of student protests.
In the Japanese capital, Murakami ran a jazz club in the 1970s before becoming a full-time writer. Tokyo is also the setting for many of his novels.
In the early 1990s, Murakami stayed in the United States as a visiting scholar, notably at Princeton, a period during which he wrote several important books.
Typical Objects
Murakami is a passionate collector of jazz records, which he played in his club and whose music permeates his novels. For him, jazz is a source of inspiration just as important as literature.
Murakami composes his novels according to a strict discipline, long on a typewriter and then on a computer. The writing tool is at the heart of his daily craft as a novelist.
A dedicated marathon runner, Murakami links physical endurance to creative endurance. His sneakers are the symbol of a discipline that structures his life as a writer.
📷 CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons ↗
A former bar owner and then a methodical early riser, Murakami is known for his ritual of coffee in the early morning before writing. The drink often accompanies his characters in everyday scenes.
Present in almost all of his novels, the cat is a recurring motif in Murakami's world; he even named his jazz club after his own cat. It embodies the mystery and strangeness that surface within everyday life.
The editions of his novels in dozens of languages bear witness to his global reach. The translated book symbolizes the circulation of Japanese literature in the age of globalization.
School Curriculum
Vocabulary & Tags
Key Vocabulary
Daily Life
Morning
When he is writing a novel, Murakami gets up very early, around 4 in the morning, and works five to six hours straight in silence. This early-morning focus is the heart of his creative day.
Afternoon
In the afternoon, he goes out to run about ten kilometers or to swim, convinced that physical effort feeds the mental endurance that writing requires. He also devotes time to translating American authors.
Evening
In the evening, Murakami reads, listens to his jazz and classical music records, then goes to bed early, around 9 p.m. He repeats this routine almost without variation for months.
Food
A lover of simple food, Murakami often describes modest meals in his books: pasta, sandwiches, everyday Japanese dishes. He places importance on coffee and on the regular diet of an athlete.
Clothing
Murakami dresses casually and discreetly, far from the image of the great writer: T-shirts, simple jackets, and running sneakers. He shuns public appearances and celebrity.
Housing
He lived in apartments in Tokyo, then abroad (Europe, the United States) before returning to Japan. His living environment is spare, organized around writing, music, and running.
Historical Timeline
Period Vocabulary
Liens externes & ressources
Références
Œuvres
Écoute le chant du vent
1979
La Course au mouton sauvage
1982
La Ballade de l'impossible (Norwegian Wood)
1987
Chroniques de l'oiseau à ressort
1994
Kafka sur le rivage
2002
Autoportrait de l'auteur en coureur de fond
2007
1Q84
2009-2010
