Novelist as a Vocation

by Haruki Murakami

You have to have that kind of intimate, physical sensation—that “Hey, bro, got something here you’re gonna love” sense—that sort of direct deal between author and reader.

Murakami on the connection needed between himself and his readers

Japan as Number One;

Maybe it’s just a coincidence. But it seems to me that a huge transformation in the foundations and structure of a society has a profound influence on people’s everyday sense of reality, and the desire for transformation is only to be expected. The reality of actual society and the reality of stories are inevitably connected at a fundamental level in people’s souls (or in their unconscious). In any age, when something major occurs and there’s a shift in social reality, there’s a related yearning for a shift in the reality of stories as well.

But I wanted to leave that environment and, as an (almost) unknown writer, see how far I could go as a newcomer in the market outside Japan. That became my personal goal. And looking back on it now, I think having that goal as a kind of slogan was a great thing. It’s important for those who deal with creativity to always want to push forward into new frontiers. Being content with where you are and staying in one place (“place” in a metaphoric sense) means your creative urge will atrophy and eventually be lost. I may have, at exactly the right time, found a worthy goal and a healthy sense of ambition.