The Waseda International House of Literature (The Haruki Murakami Library)Waseda University

Black Women’s Literature and Jazz: Tracing the History of Black Feminism

Exhibition Overview

Art has been a powerful medium for Black women breaking silence, illuminating the soul within, and defining themselves in their own terms.
This exhibition presents literary works and jazz records created by Black women in the United States and beyond, offering an opportunity to trace the intellectual history of Black feminism. Visitors are invited to engage with voices that resonate through novels, poetry, songs, and musical compositions.

（Click the image to enlarge.Download the flyer here）

• November 13,2025 – April 19,2026
• Opening hours: 10:00-17:00
• Closed: Wednesdays and other days (Please see website for details)
• The Waseda International House of Literature, 2F Exhibition Room
• Organized by The Waseda International House of Literature

Selected Examples of Featured Literary and Musical Works:

• Literary works by African American women writers that have been translated into Japanese—including Zora Neale Hurston, Toni Morrison, and Alice Walker—as well as by Black women writers from other parts of the world
• Records by women blues and jazz singers, including Bessie Smith and Billie Holiday, and pioneering instrumentalists such as Mary Lou Williams, Esperanza Spalding and Terri Lyne Carrington: artists who transcend the boundaries of both genre and gender

Women in Jazz from Haruki Murakami’s Record Shelf

Haruki Murakami is a devoted lover of jazz. This exhibit showcases records by women jazz musicians selected from his personal collection. Visitors can also enjoy Murakami’s own comments on these albums.
In addition, the exhibit includes some of Murakami’s writings—Portrait in Jazz, Murakami Songs, and The Wonderful World of David Stone Martin—in which he introduces readers to several of the women musicians featured.