Korean Job Discussion Forums

[DanseurVertical]

I've met several educated Korean people who enjoy Murakami Haruki's novels. Before I did some recent reading, I hadn't realized that in Japan today there is a lot of tolerance and even some celebration of their imperialist period. Does any of Murakami's novels deal with this issue? Or of Japanese people encountering foreign peoples and reckoning with issues of Japanese identity / nationalism?

[optik404]

I've read a bunch of his books, the ones I read had nothing to do with nationalism or encountering foreigners.

[Seoulman69]

I don't know about the celebration of their imperial past but I've read two of Haruki's books. Neither of which struck me as nationalistic or dealing with the Japanese identity. I found them a tad boring, to be honest. The books I read were Kafka on the Shore and Northern Wood.
OP - where did you read about some Japanese celebrating their imperial past? Also, am I correct in guessing you are not a native English speaker?

[cabeza]

Nothing nationalistic and i've read all of his books. I find him a bit over rated.
To be honest the book i found most intetesting was "underground". Its non fiction about the sarin gas attacks in 1995 by that Aum cult. He ties it to a deeper look at the Japanese psyche, of which he's somewhat critical. I read that while living in Japan and his insights made me understand Japan a lot more.
He has spent/spends a lot of time living outside of Japan so I dont think he's the nationalistic type. But who knows.

[DanseurVertical]

[cabeza]

Yeah...dont know what was up with my comprehension there. Sorry.
Still i'd say no.

[DanseurVertical]

[bucheon bum]

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicles has a side story about Japan fighting Russia in Mongolia. It is more about the subject of evil than nationalism though. That's the closest he comes to the topic in the half dozen or so books I've read of his.

[bucheon bum]

[FMPJ]

Murakami lives in Boston. Not exactly the most Japanese dude around at this point.

[bucheon bum]

[RangerMcGreggor]

From my understanding, Murakami was involved in student activism as a student and was a bit of a leftist. Japanese leftists tend to be very anti-imperial Japan

[PatrickGHBusan]

I read his 1Q84 (ichi-kew-hachi-yon) "trilogy" (was published in 3 volumes) based on my brother's recommendation.

I was an interesting and often weird read. My wife then read the 3 books and enjoyed them as well.

As far as celebration of their imperial period, my brother who lives in Tokyo tells me that there is an under-current in Japan about this very thing but that it does not seem all that widespread. Then again that is his take on it.

The politics of Japan are kind of shifting to the right but that is a far cry from any kind of open celebration of their imperial past I think.