Japanese Novel

Title:

Norwegian Wood (Noruwei no Mori ノルウェイの森)

by Haruki Murakami

Literary piece:
Artifacts:

 First Japanese edition of Haruki Murakami’s Norwegian Wood.

 Cover page of Murakami’s Norwegian Wood Vintage International Edition.

 Among the latest published Vintage International Edition of Murakami’s masterpiece.

 Norwegian Wood cover page on the author’s personal website.

Description of literary piece:

Haruki Murakami's Noruwei no Mori, internationally known as Norwegian Wood, is a coming-of-age

novel that explores the theme of loss and the overcoming of grief. Norwegian Wood sets a great example
of bildungsroman genre as the story explore the main character's formative years, twirling us through his
whirlpool of painful disappointments, mental progress, and moral education; ending with a positive
message: there is grace in our failures, and even though we may be lost, we can continue to live as long as
we try.

About the author:

Haruki Murakami was born on January 12, 1949 in Kyoto, Japan. He grew up in Kobe and then moved to
Tokyo for his studies. After graduating, Murakami opened a small jazz bar, which he and his wife ran for
seven years.

His first novel, Hear the Wind Sing, won the Gunzou Literature Prize for budding writers in 1979. He
followed this success with two sequels, Pinball, 1973 and A Wild Sheep Chase, which all together form
“The Trilogy of the Rat.”

He also wrote the novels Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World; Norwegian Wood; Dance
Dance Dance; South of the Border, West of the Sun; The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle; Sputnik Sweetheart;
Kafka on the Shore; After Dark; 1Q84; and Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage. He
has written three short story collections: The Elephant Vanishes; After the Quake; and Blind Willow,
Sleeping Woman; and an illustrated novella, The Strange Library.

*The most recent of his many international literary honors is the Jerusalem Prize. Murakami’s work has
been translated into more than fifty languages. As a notable writer in history, the main influences in all of
his works were Raymond Chandler, Kurt Vonnegut, Richard Brautigan.*

\\ *You may remove this part.

(Cited from http://harukimurakami.com)

Japan:
(The sight of Mount Fuji over a Japanese shrine surrounded by sakura or cherry blossom.)

Konnichiwa こんにちは – Hello

Irasshaimase いらっしゃいませ – Welcome/Please come in

\\ Nihongo – Japanese language, Hiragana – Japanese writing system

Summary of the literary piece:

Norwegian Wood begins with Toru Watanabe, a middle-aged man who feels overwhelmed by a sense of
nostalgia as he listens to the song ''Norwegian Wood'' by the Beatles. Hearing this song sends Toru
tumbling eighteen years into the past to a time when he was still a college kid.

During that time, Toru's best friend, Kizuki, who was in a loving relationship with Naoko, left the world,
to the disbelief of his friends. Toru tries to offer emotional support to Naoko, but ends up falling
desperately in love with her. Sadly, for Toru, Naoko is in no state to be in a relationship. Kizuki's death
has left her emotionally unstable. Realizing that she cannot control herself or her depression, Naoko seeks
help at a mental institution. Toru, still madly in love with her, visits Naoko during her stay.

Toru meets Naoko's roommate, a musician named Reiko, and the three quickly become very close. It is
through Reiko's mature guidance that Naoko and Toru are able to become intimate. Toru promises Naoko
that he will continue to love her, but eventually finds himself distracted at college after a chance
encounter with a girl named Midori.

Midori seems to be the complete opposite of the now gloomy Naoko. Toru becomes enamored with her
upbeat and happy-go-lucky attitude. Toru continues to see Midori and realizes that his relationship with
Naoko simply can't last, especially as Naoko's mental state continues to worsen. Toru eventually tells
Midori about his love affair with Naoko, and Midori breaks off their relationship.

As Toru decides to eventually end it with Naoko, Reiko informs Toru that Naoko has taken her own life.
Lost and feeling utterly alone, Toru wanders the country dazed and deeply hurt. Toru is brought back to
life when Reiko visits him. After spending an hour talking about Naoko, Reiko and Toru had an intimate
moment. The next morning, Reiko leaves for a new town and a new start on life. After some time, Toru
attempts to reconnect with Midori, but no promises are made.

(Cited from https://study.com/academy/lesson/norwegian-wood-by-haruki-murakami-summary-

analysis.html)
Takeaways from the literary piece:

The book tells the story narrated by Toru Watanabe, who lost his best friend at the age of 17 when he
decided to take his own life. Toru falls in love with her best friend's girlfriend but the relationship was
complicated as she also dealt with two losses and was unable to cope with it. But before they became a
thing, Toru had his first girlfriend whom he thought he loved. Unfortunately, she left the world too soon
and Toru was left alone. The narrator of the book always kept his feelings and thoughts to himself and
never shared it with anyone. This resulted in him suffering psychologically and mentally with the life he
has.

Toru's story teaches us a lesson that if we are facing some problems and issues in our life, it would be
great to lean onto someone who shares the same feeling you have rather than ending everything. There
are far much greater resolutions than death as it is bitter and it does not fix anything. In fact, it only adds
up more pain not only to yourself but most especially to people who adore and love you. There is always
a better option. There could be someone who can understand you and your emotions and handle it well.
The same happened in the book when the narrator asked for help from his second girlfriend and the
situation was handled successfully. He chose life over death.

Haruki Murakami's masterpiece, Norwegian Wood, reminds us not to hesitate in asking for help
whenever we are in need. As the saying goes, "no man is an island." No matter how hard we cope alone,
we will always crave for someone to remind us of the beautiful things we have and we share with other
people. Storms may come but we will not be shattered if we strengthen our bond. Whenever life gets
tough and rough, it can be hard to open up to the ones whom you trust the most but once you do, you
might feel better.

Content edited by:

Roiz Alessander M. Hipolito, BSEd-English III-1

Tour Script:
Irasshaimase! In this room, I will introduce to you one of the iconic literary works of the Japanese author,
Haruki Murakami.

Haruki Murakami's Noruwei no Mori, internationally known as Norwegian Wood, is a coming-of-age

novel that explores the theme of loss and the overcoming of grief. Norwegian Wood sets a great example
of bildungsroman genre as the story explore the main character's formative years, twirling us through his
whirlpool of painful disappointments, mental progress, and moral education; ending with a positive
message: there is grace in our failures, and even though we may be lost, we can continue to live as long as
we try.

On this side, you can admire some of the artifacts of Murakami’s novel. In front of you is the first
Japanese edition of Norwegian Wood. As the novel became more popular, the publishers came up with
these different artworks on the cover page.

And before we proceed to another rooms, wouldn’t it be great to get to know the writer behind this
masterpiece. Haruki Murakami was born on January 12, 1949 in Kyoto, Japan. He grew up in Kobe and
then moved to Tokyo for his studies. After graduating, Murakami opened a small jazz bar, which he and
his wife ran for seven years.

His first novel, Hear the Wind Sing, won the Gunzou Literature Prize for budding writers in 1979. He
followed this success with two sequels, Pinball, 1973 and A Wild Sheep Chase, which all together form
“The Trilogy of the Rat.”

He also wrote the novels Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World; Norwegian Wood; Dance
Dance Dance; South of the Border, West of the Sun; The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle; Sputnik Sweetheart;
Kafka on the Shore; After Dark; 1Q84; and Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage. He
has written three short story collections: The Elephant Vanishes; After the Quake; and Blind Willow,
Sleeping Woman; and an illustrated novella, The Strange Library.
And that’s pretty much everything about Haruki Murakami and his novel, Norwegian Wood. Thank you
very much for visiting the novel room and I hope you enjoy the rest of the literary works in the art
gallery.