{"id":2448,"date":"2022-06-27T12:05:25","date_gmt":"2022-06-27T03:05:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/culture\/wihl\/?p=2448"},"modified":"2022-06-27T13:59:53","modified_gmt":"2022-06-27T04:59:53","slug":"%ef%bc%bbevent-report%ef%bc%bdauthors-alive-meet-the-author-session-one-haruki-murakami-and-yoko-ogawa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/culture\/wihl\/news-en\/2448","title":{"rendered":"\uff3bEvent Report\uff3dAuthors Alive! ~Meet the Author~ Session One: Haruki Murakami and Yoko Ogawa"},"content":{"rendered":"

Authors Alive! ~Meet the Author~ Session One: Haruki Murakami and Yoko Ogawa<\/h3>\n

The following event report was written by Haruka Homma, a then 3rd year student and Cultural Affairs student advisor. The report was originally published in Japanese on October 28, 2021, and has been translated into English here.<\/em><\/p>\n

October 9, 2021
\n\"\"Opened earlier this month, Waseda University\u2019s International House of Literature (the Haruki Murakami Library) still gave off the wonderful fragrance of fresh wood from its recent renovations. On the basement floor, a sign shaped like the planet Saturn is alight. This sign is the actual prop that was used in the stage production of Kafka on the Shore, and it is here that authors Haruki Murakami and Yoko Ogawa made their grand entrance.<\/p>\n

Yoko Ogawa, an alumna of the University, came all the way from Osaka to attend today\u2019s event, and this brought Murakami to recall the Glico running man at the Itami Airport. The way that Murakami can create such a fervor in the audience is remarkable, and I felt I got a glimpse of his character and overflowing humor.<\/p>\n

The first half of the Authors Alive event involved Murakami and Ogawa discussing the areas of Osaka and Kobe, and it was fascinating to hear stories about these locations which brought about the two\u2019s artistry. I now want to visit the Nishinomiya and Ashiya areas.
\n\"\"
\nAt the event, both Ogawa and Murakami recited two literary works each.<\/p>\n

Ogawa chose Backstroke, one of her short stories, for her first recital. I found it striking that she prefaced her reading by stating, \u201cThis is a work that is exactly as is read, so it\u2019s okay to relax and listen.\u201d It was my first time to watch and listen to an author read out their own work, and without knowing it my shoulders had become tense. But, with Ogawa\u2019s opening comment my tension softly faded away.<\/p>\n

The lively atmosphere of the venue had become quiet, transforming into a disciplined space where Ogawa\u2019s voice resounded. Her way of reading was one which cherished every word. Surrounded entirely by books as I sat on the stairs of the bookcase shelf area, my imagination could run wild, and I saw the story unfold vividly in my mind.<\/p>\n

And now Murakami with his first recital, the self-penned The Rise and Fall of Sharpie Cakes. According to Murakami, this work was written to reflect the strangeness of \u201canother world\u201d that he felt when entering the literary world. He stated the work is \u201cpretty much a true story,\u201d which was a shock to hear.<\/p>\n

When Murakami read, he made sure to look at our faces in the audience and it felt as if he was reading it out directly for me. His recital brought occasional laughter from the audience, and while listening I remembered thinking how amazing it is that he could channel literature in such a way that it can be felt as a real experience.<\/p>\n

In the event\u2019s second half, the two authors further bonded over their love of watching baseball. Murakami is a passionate fan of the Tokyo Yakult Swallows. \u201cBut you\u2019re from the Kansai region!\u201d questioned Ogawa, and Murakami explained, \u201cI absolutely love the Jingu Baseball Stadium, so I decided to root for the team that the stadium is home ground for!\u201d It seems like this stadium is also grounds for inspiration when Murakami writes, and he even spoke about going to the stadium after the Authors Alive event. I was moved by the notion that some of the inspiration behind Murakami\u2019s works could be lurking in everyday areas like a baseball stadium.<\/p>\n

For his second recital, Murakami chose Landscape with Flatiron, a short story he wrote shortly after the Great Hanshin Earthquake of 1995. Apparently, Murakami chose this work to meet the rising demand for his \u201cKansai dialect.\u201d
\n\"\"Though the bonfires within the story leave an impression, Ogawa felt it odd that the title instead uses \u201cflatiron\u201d, an object quite physically removed from that of a bonfire. When she questioned Murakami on this, he replied, \u201cI also thought the title of the story was \u2018Bonfire.\u2019 I forgot because I don\u2019t read the work after it is published.\u201d It was with this statement that I felt Murakami to be a writer who isn\u2019t overly concerned with his previously written works, and is always looking ahead to pen new stories instead.<\/p>\n

For her second reading, Ogawa chose her 2019 novel Kobako. The work revolves around music, and Ogawa prefaced her reading by saying \u201cWhile the music will not resound within these walls, please play each piece of music within your ears.\u201d Listening to her voice while imagining the music made for quite the literary experience.<\/p>\n

Authors Alive! ~Meet the Author~, an event named by Murakami himself, was truly a chance to meet and get a feel of the authors and their activities in the literary world. Though the two-hour event flew by, it was an unforgettable experience.<\/p>\n

<\/h5>\n