Haruki Murakami, the author of The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, Kafka on the Shore, 1Q84, and so many other famous books, was born on January 12, 1949, in Kyoto, Japan. Shortly after his birth, his parents, who were teachers, decided to move to Kobe. Murakami’s life is significantly impacted by the time he spent in this city over the long term. He had the opportunity to get acquainted with American sailors in the port of Kobe, and obviously American books at an early stage. He was more interested in American literature than classical Japanese literature. His later books began to exhibit the impact of this interest.
In 1968, he enrolled in the department of Theater and Film Arts at the Waseda University. Murakami and his wife, who tied the knot when they were students at the college, aspired to establish a music cafe. The couple, who earned as much money as they could for three years, opened a music cafe in 1974. Murakami describes the time when they ran this place in the following words: “I was young and in my prime, could listen to my favorite music all day long, and was the lord of my own little domain… Looking back, all I can remember is how hard we worked… What free time I did have, though, I spent reading. Along with music, books were my great joy. No matter how busy, or how broke, or how exhausted I was, no one could take those pleasures away from me.”[1]
Despite being occupied with their preferred profession, they lived in debt. After they have to change the location of the place they opened, their debts increase even more. Things are not going well, but in April 1978, Murakami’s life changed in an interesting way.
This change experienced by the famous writer took place during a baseball game. During a baseball game between the Yakult Swallows and Hiroshima Carp teams in Japan, a deluge of applause broke out from the fans after American player Dave Hilton hit a double. Just then, Haruki Murakami comes to mind, taking a pen in his hand and starting to write. He expresses this as “something (an epiphany) fell slowly from the sky and he caught it.”[2] Prompted by a sudden emotion, he grabbed a stack of writing paper and a fountain pen as he headed home after the game, and that night, he took his inaugural step into the world of writing.
Now a new door has been opened in his life.
After coming home from work every day, he continued to write at the kitchen table until late, and about six months later, he completed his first book, Hear the Wind Sing. He won the “Gunzou Literary Award” for this work he wrote.[3] Murakami, who discovered an opportunity to pursue a writing career unexpectedly, carries on as a writer after his earlier venture of opening a music cafe. He serves as an inspiring example of how hope can blossom unexpectedly.
[1] “Haruki Murakami: The Moment I Became a Novelist”, http://lithub.com/haruki-murakami-the-moment-i-became-a-novelist/
[2] Yuka Ogasawara, “Haruki Murakami has Never Experienced Writer’s Block”, http://medium.com/@yukettina423/haruki-murakami-has-never-experienced-writers-block-ae4852cd1bfa
[3] “Haruki Murakami”, http://whoswho.de/bio/haruki-murakami.html; “Author: Haruki Murakami”, http://www.harukimurakami.com/author
