Haruki Murakami
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Haruki Murakami (January 12, 1949) is a popular contemporary Japanese writer and translator, known for such novels as Kafka on the Shore.
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Criticism and influence
Murakami's fiction, often criticized for being "pop" literature by Japan's literary establishment, is humorous and surreal, and at the same time reflects an essential alienation, loneliness, and longing for love in a way that has touched readers in the US and Europe, as well as in East Asia. In addition, Murakami's writing has also been criticized because of his portrayal of Japan's obsession with capitalism. Through his work, he was able to capture the spiritual emptiness of his generation and explore the negative effects of Japan's work-dominated mentality. His writing criticizes the decrease in human values and a loss of connection between people in Japan's capitalist society.
Recently, director Jun Ichikawa adapted Murakami's short story Tony Takitani into a 75 minute feature. The film has played at various film festivals and was released in New York and Los Angeles July 29, 2005. The original short story (as translated by Jay Rubin) is available in the April 15, 2002, issue of The New Yorker, as a stand-alone book published by Cloverfield Press, and part of Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman by Knopf.
Murakami's work has also been adapted for the stage, in a 2003 play entitled The Elephant Vanishes, co-produced by Britain's Complicite company and Japan's Setagaya Public Theatre. The production, directed by Simon McBurney, adapted three of Murakami's short stories and received acclaim for its unique blending of multimedia (video, music, and innovative sound design) with actor-driven physical theatre (mime, dance, and even acrobatic wirework). On tour, the play was performed in Japanese, with translating supertitles for European and American audiences.
On Max Richter's 2006 album Songs from Before, Robert Wyatt reads passages from Murakami's novels.
In 2006, Murakami became the sixth winner of the Franz Kafka Prize, which has been awarded in past years to Nobel Prize In Literature winners Harold Pinter and Elfriede Jelinek. Murakami himself has been considered a possible laureate. If Murakami receives the Prize, he would become the third Japanese Literature Prize laureate, after Kawabata Yasunari and Kenzaburo Oe.
Bibliography
Novels
| Original Title | Original Publication Date | English Title | English Publication Date</small> |
|---|---|---|---|
| 風の歌を聴け Kaze no uta o kike | 1979 | Hear the Wind Sing | 1987 |
| 1973年のピンボール 1973-nen no pinbōru | 1980 | Pinball, 1973 | 1985 |
| 羊をめぐる冒険 Hitsuji o meguru bōken | 1982 | A Wild Sheep Chase | 1989 |
| 世界の終りとハードボイルド・ワンダーランド Sekai no owari to hādoboirudo wandārando | 1985 | Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World | 1991 |
| ノルウェイの森 Noruwei no mori | 1987 | Norwegian Wood | 2000 |
| ダンス・ダンス・ダンス Dansu dansu dansu | 1988 | Dance Dance Dance | 1994 |
| 国境の南、太陽の西 Kokkyō no minami, taiyō no nishi | 1992 | South of the Border, West of the Sun | 2000 |
| ねじまき鳥クロニクル Nejimaki-dori kuronikuru | 1995 | The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle | 1997 |
| スプートニクの恋人 Supūtoniku no koibito | 1999 | Sputnik Sweetheart | 2001 |
| 海辺のカフカ Umibe no Kafuka | 2002 | Kafka on the Shore | 2005 |
| アフターダーク Afutā Dāku | 2004 | After Dark | 2007 |
| 1Q84 Ichi-kyū-hachi-yon | 2009 | 1Q84 | 2011 |
Short stories
| Year | Japanese Title | English Title | Appears in |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 中国行きのスロウ・ボート "Chūgoku-yuki no surou bōto" | A Slow Boat to China | The Elephant Vanishes |
| 貧乏な叔母さんの話 Binbō na obasan no hanashi | A 'Poor Aunt' Story (The New Yorker, December 3, 2001) | Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman | |
| 1981 | ニューヨーク炭鉱の悲劇 Nyū Yōku tankō no higeki | New York Mining Disaster (The New Yorker, January 11, 1999) | |
| スパゲティーの年に Supagetī no toshi ni | The Year of Spaghetti (The New Yorker, November 21, 2005) | ||
| 四月のある晴れた朝に100パーセントの女の子に出会うことについて Shigatsu no aru hareta asa ni 100-paasento no onna no ko ni deau koto ni tsuite | On Seeing the 100% Perfect Girl One Beautiful April Morning | The Elephant Vanishes | |
| かいつぶり Kaitsuburi | Dabchick | Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman | |
| カンガルー日和 Kangarū-biyori | A Perfect Day for Kangaroos | ||
| カンガルー通信 Kangarū tsūshin | The Kangaroo Communique | The Elephant Vanishes | |
| 1982 | 午後の最後の芝生 Gogo no saigo no shibafu | The Last Lawn of the Afternoon | |
| 1983 | 鏡 Kagami | The Mirror | Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman |
| とんがり焼の盛衰 Tongari-yaki no seisui | The Rise and Fall of Sharpie Cakes | ||
| 螢 Hotaru | Firefly | ||
| 納屋を焼く Naya wo yaku | Barn Burning (The New Yorker, November 2, 1992) | The Elephant Vanishes | |
| 1984 | 野球場 Yakyūjō | Crabs | Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman |
| 嘔吐1979 Ōto 1979 | Nausea 1979 | ||
| ハンティング・ナイフ Hantingu naifu | Hunting Knife (The New Yorker, November 17, 2003) | ||
| 踊る小人 Odoru kobito | The Dancing Dwarf | The Elephant Vanishes | |
| 1985 | レーダーホーゼン Rēdāhōzen | Lederhosen | |
| パン屋再襲撃 Panya saishūgeki | The Second Bakery Attack | ||
| 象の消滅 Zō no shōmetsu | The Elephant Vanishes (The New Yorker, November 18, 1991) | ||
| ファミリー・アフェア Famirī afea | A Family Affair | ||
| 1986 | ローマ帝国の崩壊・一八八一年のインディアン蜂起・ヒットラーのポーランド侵入・そして強風世界 Rōma-teikoku no hōkai・1881-nen no Indian hōki・Hittorā no Pōrando shinnyū・soshite kyōfū sekai | The Fall of the Roman Empire, the 1881 Indian Uprising, Hitler's Invasion of Poland, and the Realm of Raging Winds | |
| ねじまき鳥と火曜日の女たち Nejimaki-dori to kayōbi no onnatachi | The Wind-up Bird And Tuesday's Women (The New Yorker, November 26, 1990) | ||
| 1989 | 眠り Nemuri | Sleep (The New Yorker, March 30, 1992) | |
| TVピープルの逆襲 TV pīpuru no gyakushū | TV People (The New Yorker, September 10, 1990) | ||
| 飛行機―あるいは彼はいかにして詩を読むようにひとりごとを言ったか Hikōki-arui wa kare wa ika ni shite shi wo yomu yō ni hitorigoto wo itta ka | Aeroplane: Or, How He Talked to Himself as if Reciting Poetry (The New Yorker, July 1, 2002) | Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman | |
| 我らの時代のフォークロア―高度資本主義前史 Warera no jidai no fōkuroa-kōdo shihonshugi zenshi | A Folklore for My Generation: A Prehistory of Late-Stage Capitalism | ||
| 1990 | トニー滝谷 Tonī Takitani | Tony Takitani (The New Yorker, April 15, 2002) | |
| 1991 | 沈黙 Chinmoku | The Silence | The Elephant Vanishes |
| 緑色の獣 Midori-iro no kemono | The Little Green Monster | ||
| 氷男 Kōri otoko | The Ice Man | Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman | |
| 人喰い猫 Hito-kui neko | Man-Eating Cats (The New Yorker, December 4, 2000) | ||
| 1995 | めくらやなぎと、眠る女 Mekurayanagi to, nemuru onna | Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman | |
| 1996 | 七番目の男 Nanabanme no otoko | The Seventh Man | |
| 1999 | UFOが釧路に降りる UFO ga Kushiro ni oriru | UFO in Kushiro (The New Yorker, March 19, 2001) | after the quake |
| アイロンのある風景 Airon no aru fūkei | Landscape with Flatiron | ||
| 神の子どもたちはみな踊る Kami no kodomotachi wa mina odoru | All God's Children Can Dance | ||
| タイランド Tairando | Thailand | ||
| かえるくん、東京を救う Kaeru-kun, Tōkyō wo sukuu | Super-Frog Saves Tokyo | ||
| 2000 | 蜂蜜パイ Hachimitsu pai | Honey Pie (The New Yorker, August 20, 2001) | |
| 2002 | バースデイ・ガール Bāsudei gāru | Birthday Girl | Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman |
| 2005 | 偶然の旅人 Gūzen no tabibito | Chance Traveller | |
| ハナレイ・ベイ Hanarei Bei | Hanalei Bay | ||
| どこであれそれが見つかりそうな場所で Doko de are sore ga mitsukarisō na basho de | Where I'm Likely to Find It (The New Yorker, May 2, 2005) | ||
| 日々移動する腎臓のかたちをした石 Hibi idō suru jinzō no katachi wo shita ishi | The Kidney-Shaped Stone That Moves Every Day | ||
| 品川猿 Shinagawa saru | A Shinagawa Monkey (The New Yorker, February 13, 2006) |
Essays and nonfiction
| English | Japanese | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Title | Year | Title |
| N/A | Rain, Burning Sun (Come Rain or Come Shine) | 1990 | 雨天炎天 "Uten Enten" |
| N/A | Portrait in Jazz | 1997 | ポ－トレイト・イン・ジャズ "Pōtoreito in jazu" |
| 2000 | Underground | 1997–1998 | アンダーグラウンド "Andāguraundo" |
| N/A | Portrait in Jazz 2 | 2001 | ポ－トレイト・イン・ジャズ 2 "Pōtoreito in jazu 2" |
| 2008 | What I Talk About When I Talk About Running | 2007 | 走ることについて語るときに僕の語ること "Hashiru koto ni tsuite kataru toki ni boku no kataru koto" |
| N/A | It Ain't Got that Swing (If It Don't Mean a Thing) | 2008 | 意味がなければスイングはない "Imi ga nakereba suingu wa nai" |
Translations
- C. D. B. Bryan - The Great Dethriffe
- Truman Capote - A Christmas Memory, One Christmas, Breakfast at Tiffany's, I Remember Grandpa, Children on Their Birthdays
- Raymond Carver - All Works of Raymond Carver
- Raymond Chandler - Farewell, My Lovely, The Long Goodbye
- Bill Crow - Jazz Anecdotes, From Birdland to Broadway
- Terry Farish - The Cat Who Liked Potato Soup
- F. Scott Fitzgerald - My Lost City, The Great Gatsby
- Jim Fusilli - The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds
- Mikal Gilmore - Shot in the Heart
- Mark Helprin - Swan Lake
- John Irving - Setting Free the Bears
- Ursula K. Le Guin - Catwings, Catwings Return, Wonderful Alexander and the Catwings, Jane on her Own
- Tim O'Brien - The Nuclear Age, The Things They Carried, July, July
- Grace Paley - Enormous Changes at the Last Minute, The Little Disturbances of Man
- J. D. Salinger - The Catcher in the Rye
- Mark Strand - Mr. and Mrs. Baby and Other Stories
- Paul Theroux - World's End and Other Stories
- Chris Van Allsburg - The Polar Express, The Wretched Stone, The Mysteries of Harris Burdick, Ben's Dream, Two Bad Ants, The Sweetest Fig, The Window's Broom, The Stranger, The Wreck of the Zephyer, The Garden of Abdul Gasazi
