Haruki Murakami

How A Double Hit At a Baseball Game Convinced Haruki Murakami To Write a Novel

Discipline: Author

Born in Kyoto, Japan in 1949 Haruki Murakami would later relocate to Tokyo to attend Waseda University. He never thought he’d become an artist of any kind. He tangentially supported the arts through the Jazz bar he started, Peter Cat, with his wife at the age of 33. Heavily influenced by American culture, Haruki wanted to have more western music in Tokyo. Tokyo didn’t have any live Jazz clubs, so he opened one. Murakami and his wife found a small space to make to use. He recalls the space could barely fit a full band on stage. They started the club without the experience of running a business of any kind. People told him he’d fail, and it would never work. Murakami followed his gut and made a place that he wanted to hang out at. Even though running Peter Cat was like a hobby, he took it seriously. Failure was not an option for Murakami. They made sure they maximized the space by serving coffee during the day and turning into a jazz club and bar at night (1).

One day out at a baseball game at Jingu Stadium in 1978 Haruki watched the Yakult Swallows and the Hiroshima Carp when an American Dave Hilton came to bat and hit a double. Immediately after the hit, something was sparked within Murakami. He came to the realization that he could write a novel (2). He went home and did so that night. The professional tools he bought for himself were manuscript paper and a fountain pen. Before that, he hadn’t written or created anything at all. For Murakami, any activity he engaged in was an all or nothing proposition. He spoke to his wife about closing the Jazz bar so he could focus 100% of his energy and time writing despite the Jazz cub doing well. As Murakami describes, it’s not in his personality to delegate and have someone else run the bar. It would cause him too much stress, it was easier for him to close it than it was for someone else to run it. The one refreshing thing he states about making the transition to being an author is that when he ran the bar, he had to serve anyone who walked through the door. No matter if he liked them or not. Where with writing, he only needed to serve himself. Now if he doesn’t want to see someone he doesn’t have to (3).

Once Haruki finished his first novel “Hear the Wind Sing”, It was 200 pages long handwritten. He submitted his book for the Gunzou Literature Prize for budding writers in 1979. He mailed his original manuscript with no copies or backups and had no fear of it getting lost or discarded if his piece was rejected. Murakami felt he could produce novels at will. In his mind, a rewrite wouldn’t be a problem. His primary interest was his ability to complete a book. Murakami was shortlisted and wound up winning the prize. At 30 labeled an up and coming author he quickly followed up with two sequels Pinball, 1973 and A Wild Sheep Chase (4).

An avid long-distance runner Haruki attributes his success, not to talent but endurance. You show up and keep going. Writing takes stamina. He’s admitted that as you get older, you tire out. You lose the motivation or perseverance to keep creating. He’s kept writing over the past 40 years and continues to write at the age of 70. Murakami maintains a rigorous daily routine still, of writing 10 pages and running 6 miles a day. Every day. His works are global best sellers and are now translated in over 50 languages (5).

References

1. Murakami, Haruki. What I Talk About When I Talk About Running. VINTAGE, 2009.

2. Murakami, Haruki. “Author.” Haruki Murakami, 2019, www.harukimurakami.com/author.

3. Murakami, Haruki. What I Talk About When I Talk About Running. VINTAGE, 2009.

4. Ibid.

5. “Haruki Murakami.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 26 June 2019, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haruki_Murakami.

Originally published at https://blog.viktorbezic.com.