One topic that has come up plenty of times in Murakami is Japanese imperialism. Haruki seems very influenced by its aftereffects, influencing his views on the Japanese state, as well as writings on his father and fiction regarding the period. While his literary fame has led to him becoming somewhat of a cultural ambassador for Japan (a role which he views as a privilege https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/the-harukists-disappointed), he has many misgivings about his homeland, mainly its role in the Second World War. In a 2015 interview he states that all Japan can do about its history is to repeatedly apologize until other countries have said “you have apologized enough,” stating that “apologizing is nothing to feel embarrassed about.” (https://www.timesofisrael.com/japan-must-repent-for-wwii-until-forgiven-murakami-says/)
Writings on his father give great insight into how the period impacted Haruki, such as Abandoning A Cat. Here, Murakami reveals his father was drafted into the Japanese military during the Second World War. Afraid to ask his father about the matters, it didn’t help that his father did tell him a story of his unit decapitating a captured Chinese soldier, which became “deeply etched in my young mind.” Discovering a haiku written by his father discussing a visit by Hitler Youth to Nara likely didn’t help either. These stories influenced Murakami’s ethos and future writings, including later allusions to the imperial period. One of these is a section of The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle detailing a character’s experiences in the last days of Manchukuo, Japan’s puppet state in Northeastern China. This chapter deals with a zoo under Japanese control in the wake of an imminent takeover by a Soviet-Chinese offensive. After an offensive filled with unjustified killings (including a man skinned in similar fashion to Murakami’s father’s story of a decapitation) the chapter details the staff violently euthanizing the animals remaining in the compound, before fleeing and narrowly avoiding death by a passing American naval vessel. It’s a violent and sad affair, likely related to the guilt Murakami may feel is personally attached, either to his nation or his father. But regarding such feelings, they also provide a platform to showcase the power of forgiveness (whether justified or not), with Haruki making attempts to bond with his nation or his family in spite of everything said beforehand here. The result makes stories such as Abandoning A Cat incredibly powerful.
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