The Haruki Phenomenon

Haruki Murakami as Cosmopolitan Writer
1. Auflage 2020
ISBN: 978-981-15-7548-8
Verlag: Springer Nature Singapore

Buch, Englisch, 109 Seiten, Format (B × H): 160 mm x 241 mm, Gewicht: 366 g

This book explores the idea of a new cosmopolitan Japanese identity through a socio-cultural analysis of contemporary Japanese writer Haruki Murakami.  It is the first monograph to apply the idea of cosmopolitanism to this writer’s global popularity widely known as the “Haruki phenomenon”.By pioneering an enquiry into Murakami’s cosmopolitanism, this book aims to overcome the prevailing myth of “Japaneseness”(Nihonjinron) as a form of self-identification for Japanese, and propose an alternative approach for contemplating contemporary Japanese cultural identity.  Socio-cultural analysis of this author and his works shall establish Murakami’s cosmopolitan qualities and how they contribute to the cultural phenomenon of globalization. Furthermore, this book will introduce the idea of “everyday cosmopolitanism” as a relevant concept to address an emergent global cultural sphere. Unlike the traditional model of cosmopolitanism, which is sometimes regarded as idealist and elitist, “everyday cosmopolitanism” encompasses the everyday spheres of ordinary people. Tomoki Wakatsuki argues that the Haruki phenomenon, as a global and local event, echoes this important social trend today. Murakami’s departure from conventional notions of Japanese identity offers an alternative perception of identity and belonging that is useful for situating Japanese identity within a global context.  This text will be of interest to students and scholars of cultural studies, global literature, contemporary Japanese literature, cultural cosmopolitanism and the global cultural sphere.

Zielgruppe

Research

Autoren/Hrsg.

Wakatsuki, Tomoki

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Ästhetik
• Geisteswissenschaften Literaturwissenschaft Literaturen sonstiger Sprachräume Indische & Dravidische Literatur
• Geisteswissenschaften Literaturwissenschaft Literarische Strömungen & Epochen
• Geisteswissenschaften Literaturwissenschaft Literaturen sonstiger Sprachräume Ost- & Südostasiatische Literatur

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1. Introduction  A Cosmopolitan Roadmap to the Haruki Phenomenon1.1 Is Murakami World Literature?1.2 Everyday Cosmopolitanism and the “other world”1.3 Introducing the Chapters
2. Chapter One  Everyday Cosmopolitanism and Haruki-mania2.1 The Haruki Phenomenon2.2 Identity and Belonging, as a Cosmopolitan2.3 After the Speeches in Jerusalem and Barcelona2.4 Murakami’s Cosmopolitan Commitment in Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage2.5 Le Mal du Pays - Past Memories and Beyond2.6 In Search of the “right place” of Belonging
3. Chapter Two  Is Murakami “un-Japanese”? : the Myth of “Japaneseness”3.1 The Myth of “Japaneseness” and the Nihonjinron Discourse3.2 The watakushi shosetu and the Japanese Self3.3 The Language of the New Meiji Subject3.4 Novel Subjects for a New Nation-State3.5 Lost Identity: Westernization and Japanization 
4. Chapter Three  A Friend of the ‘egg’: Murakami Speaks in Jerusalem4.1 As a Novelist and an Individual4.2 From Cosmopolitan Exile to Cosmopolitan Commitment4.3 What is the System?4.4 Representations of the System in Murakami’s Works4.5 “The System is being created by us”4.6 Breaking Through the Wall
5. Chapter Four  An (Extra) Ordinary Cosmopolitan5.1 The Haruki Phenomenon and the Question of Japaneseness5.2 A New Cosmopolite Japaneseness?5.3 The Two Currents of the Haruki Wave5.4 An Array of Gatekeepers5.5 To Be Engaged in a Silent Conversation
6. Conclusion  In Search of Belonging6.1 Investigating the “everyday” and “otherness” in Murakami and Shaun Tan6.2 The “other world” or “another world” In Between?

Über Autor(innen)

Tomoki Wakatsuki is an independent researcher who received her PhD in Sociology at the University of New South Wales.  She has contributed a chapter to Haruki Murakami: Challenging Authors (Sense Publishers, 2016), and her article “Haruki Murakami as a cosmopolitan phenomenon: from ‘ordinary’ to ‘celebrity’” was published in the journal Celebrity Studies (Taylor & Francis, 2018).