Sheep and Japanese Imperialism

 As we have discussed, there are many references to Japanese Imperialism within A Wild Sheep’s Chase. The two characters who can be identified as antagonists of the story, the magic sheep and the boss, are both closely related to Japanese Imperialism. The boss’s connection to imperialism is more obvious, he was a war criminal and became possessed by the sheep in Manchuria, during Japan’s colonial expansion. Sheep however have a much more covert connection to Japanese Imperialism, but looking deeper into the relationship between sheep, nature, and other characters in the novel, the magic sheep can be seen as a metaphor for Japanese Imperialism.

Throughout the novel we can see many characters whose lives are ruined due to their proximity to sheep. Firstly we see our narrator, who’s whole life is turned upside down by a photograph of a sheep. Due to this mysterious sheep boss Boku has to give up his job and advertising company, and his quest ultimately removes his girlfriend and her magical ears from his life.

Later in the novel we meet the sheep professor, whose work with developing sheep to assist in a Japanese war effort in Russia, causes a total dissolution of his career. After he is possessed by the sheep in Manchuria his entire reputable career is ruined. Later we also see the sheep professor develop a sheep farm in Hokkaido only for his sheep to be repurposed to again assist Japan’s imperial conquests. The professor now lives an almost half life, locked away in a hotel room, still obsessed with sheep.

Later we also hear the story of the Ainu man that helped the Japanese settlers establish the town of Junitaki. As his story progresses we see him abandon his traditional Ainu life, take a Japanese name and wife, and start a family. As his story continues we find that his son must leave to fight in the Russo-Japanese war where he is killed, and the Ainu man withers away and dies with his sheep.

Lastly we have the example of The Rat/The Sheep Man. The sheep man explicitly states in the novel that he has come all the way out to Hokkaido to avoid fighting in war. The Rat also describes how he killed himself to prevent himself from being overtaken by the sheep’s will. This is the most explicit connection that can be interpreted that the magic sheep represents war and Japanese Imperialism. 

This degradation of people’s lives after being associated with sheep and Japanese Imperialism strikes me as a metaphor for the effect of Japanese colonialism on Japan and Japanese society. It then can be interpreted that the magic sheep is a representation of these ideals and how they can corrupt people and ruin their lives. I think sheep are also a bigger metaphor for Japanese people in general. Japan is known to be a more homogenous society. Their fervent wartime militarism, where Japanese soldiers put the goals of Japanese imperialism and war above even their own lives, is explored in many Murakami novels. Therefore I think the sheep are a metaphor for Japanese society as a whole, and their sheep-like following of the Japanese government and their imperialist ideals.

Ken Rudolph