Haruki Murakami: influences, peers and legacy

Every connection with its receipt

Murakami built a Japanese novel out of American paperbacks, jazz records and translation work — he ran a Tokyo jazz bar before publishing, and has translated Fitzgerald, Carver and Chandler into Japanese. This mix traces the hardboiled-and-Gatsby lineage, the stranger American oddities behind it, the music that structures his books, and the writers who followed.

The Kynda mix for Haruki Murakami

• Key Influence · The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (1925). Murakami has repeatedly named Gatsby the most important book of his life, and in 2006 published his own Japanese translation of it, a project he said he had been waiting until age sixty to attempt. Its first-person narrator orbiting an unreachable figure, its elegiac tone and its lost-love-as-metaphysics structure recur throughout his work, most explicitly in the narrator-and-vanished-woman architecture of Norwegian Wood and South of the Border, West of the Sun.
• Influencia Obscura · Trout Fishing in America by Richard Brautigan (1967). Brautigan, a cult West Coast figure far better known in Japan than in his native America, is the influence Murakami names most often beside Vonnegut. This slim, plotless book of whimsical fragments and surreal metaphor models exactly the tonal register of Hear the Wind Sing and Pinball, 1973: short numbered chapters, comic non sequiturs, melancholy under the lightness, and a narrator drifting rather than driving the plot.
• Local Roots · The Makioka Sisters by Jun'ichirō Tanizaki (1948). Murakami grew up in Ashiya and Kobe, the exact Hanshin corridor Tanizaki wrote from and about in this chronicle of an Osaka merchant family's decline. Murakami's relationship to this regional literary inheritance was famously resistant — he read American paperbacks bought from Kobe's port bookshops instead — but Kobe's harbour cosmopolitanism, and the 1995 earthquake that levelled it, return directly in After the Quake.
• Beyond the Medium · Sinfonietta by Leoš Janáček (1926). 1Q84 opens with Janáček's Sinfonietta playing in a Tokyo taxi stuck on an elevated expressway, and the piece recurs as the novel's signature motif and structural key — its unusual brass fanfare marking the passage between worlds. Murakami, who ran the Kokubunji jazz bar Peter Cat before writing, routinely builds novels on specific recordings, and this obscure Czech orchestral work became the most famous example.
• Peer · Almost Transparent Blue by Ryū Murakami (1976). The two Murakamis debuted within three years of each other and were bracketed together as the W Murakami phenomenon, the twin faces of a new Japanese fiction steeped in rock, drugs and American base-town culture. Ryū's Akutagawa-winning debut about young Japanese orbiting a US military base is the harder, more visceral version of the same postwar Americanisation that Haruki processed as nostalgia and metaphysics.
• From the Canon · Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World by Haruki Murakami (1985). The clearest X-ray of Murakami's method: two narratives in alternating chapters, one a Chandleresque cyberpunk thriller in a subterranean Tokyo, the other a walled town where a man reads dreams from unicorn skulls. It makes literal the split-consciousness structure that underpins everything from the two worlds of 1Q84 to the hotel corridors of Dance Dance Dance, and won him the Tanizaki Prize at thirty-six.
• Key Collaborator · Haruki Murakami and the Music of Words by Jay Rubin (2002). Rubin, a Harvard Japanese-literature scholar, is one of Murakami's principal English translators, responsible for Norwegian Wood, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle and much of 1Q84, and worked in close consultation with the author on cuts and revisions. This study doubles as a translator's memoir of that long working relationship, explaining how the English Murakami read by millions was actually constructed.
• Legacy · number9dream by David Mitchell (2001). Mitchell lived and taught in Japan for eight years and has openly acknowledged Murakami's influence; his second novel takes its title from a Lennon song, follows a young man searching Tokyo for his absent father, and layers dream sequences, video-game fantasy and yakuza thriller in a structure unmistakably downstream of Hard-Boiled Wonderland. The nested-worlds architecture of Cloud Atlas grows from the same soil.

What influenced Haruki Murakami

• Raymond Chandler. Murakami’s official website identifies Chandler as an inspiration. (also via The Long Goodbye) “His official website cites Raymond Chandler , Kurt Vonnegut , and Richard Brautigan as key inspirations to his work” (Wikipedia)
• Cormac McCarthy by Cormac McCarthy. Murakami names McCarthy among his favorite contemporary writers, though he does not explicitly call him an influence. “Asked to name some of his favourite writers working today, Murakami enthuses about Kazuo Ishiguro ("I think he dedicates himself to the writing … When he's not writing he goes around the world, but when he's writing he goes now…” (The Guardian)
• Kurt Vonnegut by Kurt Vonnegut (1922). Murakami acknowledges borrowing from Vonnegut for his first two books. “I had created these two books by borrowing from American authors like Vonnegut and Brautigan that I had admired as a student. There’s a part of me that finds that a little embarrassing now.” (Wind-Up Blog)
• Richard Brautigan. Murakami’s official website identifies Brautigan as an inspiration. (also via Trout Fishing in America) “His official website cites Raymond Chandler , Kurt Vonnegut , and Richard Brautigan as key inspirations to his work” (Wikipedia)
• Fyodor Dostoyevsky by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. Murakami calls Dostoyevsky his ideal writer. “And Dostoyevsky is my ideal writer, but he died at 59. I'm 65 right now.” (The Guardian)
• Franz Kafka by Franz Kafka. Murakami read Kafka’s work while growing up. “He grew up reading a wide range of works by European and American writers, such as Franz Kafka , Gustave Flaubert , Charles Dickens , Kurt Vonnegut , Fyodor Dostoyevsky , Richard Brautigan and Jack Kerouac .” (Wikipedia)
• The Long Goodbye by Raymond Chandler (1953). The Long Goodbye (Raymond Chandler) — titan for Haruki Murakami “I translate what I like to read. I have translated all the novels of Raymond Chandler. I like his style so much. I have read The Long Goodbye five or six times.” (Literary Hub)
• Charles Dickens. Murakami read Dickens’s work while growing up. “As a teenager, Murakami had read “all the great authors” – Dostoevsky, Kafka, Flaubert, Dickens, Raymond Chandler.” (The Sunday Herald)
• Kazuo Ishiguro by Kazuo Ishiguro. Murakami names Ishiguro among his favorite contemporary writers, though he does not explicitly call him an influence. “Asked to name some of his favourite writers working today, Murakami enthuses about Kazuo Ishiguro ("I think he dedicates himself to the writing … When he's not writing he goes around the world, but when he's writing he goes now…” (The Guardian)
• Dag Solstad by Dag Solstad. Murakami names Solstad among his favorite contemporary writers. “Murakami himself has named Kazuo Ishiguro , Cormac McCarthy , and Dag Solstad as his favorite contemporary writers.” (Wikipedia)
• Gustave Flaubert by Gustave Flaubert. Murakami read Flaubert’s work while growing up. “He grew up reading a wide range of works by European and American writers, such as Franz Kafka , Gustave Flaubert , Charles Dickens , Kurt Vonnegut , Fyodor Dostoyevsky , Richard Brautigan and Jack Kerouac .” (Wikipedia)
• Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers by Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers. Seeing the group perform helped spark Murakami’s interest in jazz. “When he was around 15, he began to develop an interest in jazz after attending an Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers concert in Kobe.” (Wikipedia)
• Jack Kerouac by Jack Kerouac. Murakami read Kerouac’s work while growing up. “He grew up reading a wide range of works by European and American writers, such as Franz Kafka , Gustave Flaubert , Charles Dickens , Kurt Vonnegut , Fyodor Dostoyevsky , Richard Brautigan and Jack Kerouac .” (Wikipedia)
• Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut (1969). Slaughterhouse-Five (Kurt Vonnegut) — titan for Haruki Murakami “His official website cites Raymond Chandler, Kurt Vonnegut, and Richard Brautigan as key inspirations to his work, while Murakami himself has named Kazuo Ishiguro, Cormac McCarthy, and Dag Solstad as his favorite contemporary writers.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Rubber Soul by The Beatles (1965). Rubber Soul (The Beatles) — culture for Haruki Murakami “Some of his novels take their titles from songs: Dance, Dance, Dance (after The Dells' 1957 B-side song, although it is often thought it was titled after the Beach Boys' 1964 tune), Norwegian Wood (after The Beatles' song) and South of t…” (en.wikipedia.org)
• F. Scott Fitzgerald by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Murakami says advice he attributes to Fitzgerald has helped his writing. “I’ve lost the exact reference, and it’s not a verbatim quotation, but these are F. Scott Fitzgerald’s words. I read this when I was young, and it’s remained etched in my mind. I think it’s helped me a lot as a writer.” (Interview Magazine)
• 1984. Murakami identifies Orwell’s novel as a model for 1Q84. “long wanted to write a near-past novel similar to George Orwell's futuristic novel 1984” (The Guardian)
• George Orwell. Murakami compares his position against the system to Orwell’s. “Comparing himself to George Orwell , he views himself as standing "against the system."” (Wikipedia)
• The Name is Archer by Ross Macdonald. Macdonald’s book was the first Murakami read in English. “The first book that he read in English was The Name is Archer , written by Ross Macdonald in 1955.” (Wikipedia)
• Trout Fishing in America by Richard Brautigan (1967). Trout Fishing in America (Richard Brautigan) — ghost for Haruki Murakami “His official website cites Raymond Chandler, Kurt Vonnegut, and Richard Brautigan as key inspirations to his work, while Murakami himself has named Kazuo Ishiguro, Cormac McCarthy, and Dag Solstad as his favorite contemporary writers.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Sinfonietta by Leoš Janáček (1926). Sinfonietta (Leoš Janáček) — culture for Haruki Murakami “The Haruki Murakami novel 1Q84 (2009/2010) uses Janáček's Sinfonietta as a recurring plot point.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (1925). The Great Gatsby (F. Scott Fitzgerald) — titan for Haruki Murakami (openlibrary.org)
• Enormous Changes at the Last Minute by Grace Paley (1974). Enormous Changes at the Last Minute (Grace Paley) — ghost for Haruki Murakami (openlibrary.org)
• Getz/Gilberto by Stan Getz & João Gilberto (1964). Getz/Gilberto (Stan Getz & João Gilberto) — culture for Haruki Murakami

Peers and kindred spirits

• Shigesato Itoi. Murakami co-wrote a short-story collection with Itoi. (also via Let's Meet in a Dream) “In 1981, he co-wrote a short story collection, Yume de Aimashou with Shigesato Itoi .” (Wikipedia)
• The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yōko Ogawa (2003). The Housekeeper and the Professor (Yōko Ogawa) — peer for Haruki Murakami “While at Waseda University, she was influenced by fellow Japanese authors such as Mieko Kanai, Kenzaburō Ōe, and Haruki Murakami.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Let's Meet in a Dream by Shigesato Itoi. A translation of Murakami’s preface describes his collaboration with Itoi on the book. “I personally had a great time just working on it fifty-fifty with Shigesato Itoi. The title, Let’s Meet in a Dream, was his brainchild.” (Yomuka!)
• Almost Transparent Blue by Ryū Murakami (1976). Almost Transparent Blue (Ryū Murakami) — peer for Haruki Murakami “While he does not read much contemporary Japanese literature, Murakami enjoys the works of Ryū Murakami and Banana Yoshimoto.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• A Personal Matter by Kenzaburō Ōe (1964). A Personal Matter (Kenzaburō Ōe) — geography for Haruki Murakami “The novel won the Yomiuri Prize, awarded by one of Murakami's harshest former critics, Kenzaburō Ōe, who himself won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1994.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto (1988). Kitchen (Banana Yoshimoto) — geography for Haruki Murakami “While he does not read much contemporary Japanese literature, Murakami enjoys the works of Ryū Murakami and Banana Yoshimoto.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• The Makioka Sisters by Jun'ichirō Tanizaki (1948). The Makioka Sisters (Jun'ichirō Tanizaki) — geography for Haruki Murakami “Before Haruki Murakami had achieved wide renown, Tanizaki was frequently considered one of the "Big Three" postwar Japanese writers along with Yasunari Kawabata and Yukio Mishima.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Haruki Murakami and the Music of Words by Jay Rubin (2002). Haruki Murakami and the Music of Words (Jay Rubin) — collaborator for Haruki Murakami “The original short story, translated into English 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.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Chip Kidd: Book One by Chip Kidd (2005). Chip Kidd: Book One (Chip Kidd) — collaborator for Haruki Murakami “His output includes cover concepts for books by Mark Beyer, Bret Easton Ellis, Haruki Murakami, Dean Koontz, Cormac McCarthy, Anne Rice, Frank Miller, Michael Ondaatje, Alex Ross, Charles Schulz, Osamu Tezuka, Gengoroh Tagame, David Seda…” (en.wikipedia.org)
• The Memory Police by Stephen Snyder (2019). The Memory Police (Stephen Snyder) — collaborator for Haruki Murakami

Who Haruki Murakami influenced

• Drive My Car. Chang describes the film's sensibility as shaped by Murakami's literary feel for loneliness and alienation. (also via Scheherazade, Kino) “It has Murakami's feel for loneliness and alienation and Chekhov's compassion for human frailty.” (Fresh Air (NPR/WHYY))
• Memoranda. The video game draws on stories from Murakami’s collection After the Quake. (via After the Quake, Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman, The Elephant Vanishes) “Memoranda , a 2017 adventure video game, is based on various short stories from After the Quake , Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman , and The Elephant Vanishes , and features several Murakami characters, with Mizuki Ando as the protagonist.” (Wikipedia)
• Burning by Lee Chang-dong (2018). Burning (Lee Chang-dong) — legacy for Haruki Murakami (also via Barn Burning) “In 2018, "Barn Burning " from Murakami's short story collection The Elephant Vanishes was adapted into a film titled Burning by director Lee Chang-dong .” (Wikipedia)
• BTS. Murakami’s work is named among sources that inspired BTS’s work. “Among the literary and other sources that have inspired their works are those by Haruki Murakami , Ursula K. Le Guin , Carl Jung , George Orwell and Nietzsche.” (Wikipedia)
• Breasts and Eggs by Mieko Kawakami (2019). Breasts and Eggs (Mieko Kawakami) — legacy for Haruki Murakami “From 2015 to 2017, Kawakami conducted a series of interviews with Haruki Murakami, in which she notably asked him about women and sexualization in his novels.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Attack on the Bakery. Yamakawa’s short film adapts Murakami’s story Bakery Attack. (via Bakery Attack) “Naoto Yamakawa directed two short films, Attack on the Bakery (released in 1982) and A Girl, She is 100 Percent (released in 1983), based on Murakami's short stories "Bakery Attack" and "On Seeing the 100% Perfect Girl One Beautiful Apri…” (Wikipedia)
• A Girl, She is 100 Percent. Yamakawa’s short film adapts Murakami’s story about the 100% perfect girl. (via On Seeing the 100% Perfect Girl One Beautiful April Morning) “Naoto Yamakawa directed two short films, Attack on the Bakery (released in 1982) and A Girl, She is 100 Percent (released in 1983), based on Murakami's short stories "Bakery Attack" and "On Seeing the 100% Perfect Girl One Beautiful Apri…” (Wikipedia)
• The Polar Bear. The film incorporates elements of Murakami’s short story. (via The Second Bakery Attack) “the German film The Polar Bear ( German : Der Eisbär ), written and directed by Granz Henman, used elements of Murakami's short story " The Second Bakery Attack " in three intersecting story lines.” (Wikipedia)
• Kazuki Ōmori. Ōmori adapted Murakami’s first novel into a film. (via Hear the Wind Sing) “Murakami's first novel, Hear the Wind Sing ( Kaze no uta o kike ), was adapted by Japanese director Kazuki Ōmori . The film was released in 1981 and distributed by Art Theatre Guild .” (Wikipedia)
• Jun Ichikawa. Ichikawa adapted Murakami’s short story into a feature film. (via Tony Takitani) “Japanese director Jun Ichikawa adapted Murakami's short story " Tony Takitani " into a 75-minute feature.” (Wikipedia)
• number9dream by David Mitchell (2001). number9dream (David Mitchell) — legacy for Haruki Murakami (openlibrary.org)