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At The Waseda International House of Literature (The Haruki Murakami Library), naturally, there are many books, places to sit down and relax, and even a café to grab a bite to eat. It is home to many copies of Haruki Murakami’s works translated into many different languages. Undoubtedly, some of his works are greatly influenced by one of his close friends, Mizumaru Anzai, who even appears as a character within some of Murakami’s works. Mizumaru Anzai was an artist who’s simple, yet complex drawings and illustrations are overflowing with surrealism. He worked together closely with Murakami for over 30 years on many different projects, including works such as Zoukoujou no Happy End『象工場のハッピーエンド』, Murakami Asahi Dou『村上朝日堂』, Fuwa Fuwa『ふわふわ』and many others, and the illustrations always match the writing perfectly.

The Haruki Murakami Library started hosting an exhibit in November of last year, showcasing some of the over 700 works of Mizumaru Anzai. The Haruki Murakami Library closed for a little over a month over winter break, but the exhibit will start up again on March 1^st, 2024, and will end on April 9^th, 2024. Waseda University had the opportunity to interview Makiko Odaka, the curator of this exhibit, to gain insight into her relationship to the works, her opinion on the creative responsibilities of a curator, and her reasons for choosing the items in the exhibit.

Odaka had previously worked at a graphic art gallery in Ginza, Creation Gallery G8, where she helped plan exhibits, many of which included works by Mizumaru Anzai. While planning an exhibit in the summer of 2014 after he had passed, she consulted his family about using some of his works. This led to the development of a relationship between the two that enabled Odaka to interact with and have access to a great number of his works. Through the exchanges and experience of hosting exhibits displaying Mizumaru Anzai’s works, she developed a deep understanding of his art.

When asked about what Odaka thinks about the role of a curator, she explains that a big part of the job of a curator is not only to provide visitors with art and insightful knowledge about the artist but also to create an entrance point for people to become fans as well. She delves further into this idea by explaining that the exhibits are a form of communication, and the artwork can be used to communicate in a way that helps develop a visitor’s interpretation of the artist. She mentions another responsibility of a curator is “to show visitors the different ways someone can interact with or view a piece of art.”

After inquiring about the reason why designing an exhibit at The Murakami Library appealed to her, she said that the previous areas in which she designed exhibits were rather simple yet weren’t that constraining; however, the library’s exhibit space is quite different from the spaces she worked in previously. It is instead rather white with a feeling of cleanliness, and the design of the building brought many limitations. She elaborates that she thinks this space is befitting of Mizumaru Anzai’s work because the impact of his art can be felt most strongly when viewed intently at a close range; furthermore, when choosing the works she focused on pieces that have literary ties and ties to Murakami to match the theme of the library itself. She said she wanted visitors to be able to “pick up a book and enjoy the works and words of Murakami after looking at the illustrations.” She believes that all of his works and collections exhibited, especially the snow globes, toys, and other folk-art items he collected and replicas of various sketches and drawings he created as a child, are integral in helping paint a picture of who Mizumaru Anzai was and what his works are.

The exhibit ends on April 9^th, 2024, so be sure to head over to The Haruki Murakami Library to see the works of Mizumaru Anzai, and to glance into the curation style of Makiko Odaka!