A re-exploration of the Japanese identity in the postmodern context via Haruki Murakami’s novels

• Main Author: Aw, Si Ying
• Other Authors: Lee Hyung Jung
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2015
• Subjects: DRNTU::Humanities::Literature::Japanese
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/63239
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

In this essay, I will engage in a close reading of Murakami’s novel, Kafka On The Shore, and alongside references to his other novels such as Norwegian Wood and The Wind Up Bird Chronicle, I will analyze how Murakami writes in relation to the postwar climate. Murakami’s novels are made more complex by his inclusion of foreign culture into a Japanese novel. It is not a mere celebration for foreign culture: it is Murakami’s attempt to re-define Japanese-ness through the consideration of Japan’s interaction with foreign culture, especially America. He recognises that the Japanese identity is constantly evolving due to the political and social climate surrounding Japan after World War II. Japan’s dependence on America during this period for financial and political support prompted the need to re-evaluate Japanese identity in relation to its interactions and relationship with America.