A Review of "1Q84" by Haruki Murakami - Part 1

 I first heard of 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami while listening one day to NPR. The person mentioning the book said something like, "If you want to know more about how Japanese people think, 1Q84 is a must-read." So I ordered the book and began to read it, all 925 pages of it.

 That's right—925 pages. Other than the Bible, it is the longest book I've ever read. Even the New York Times lamented the length of 1Q84, noting "Mr. Murakami’s determination to describe, inventory and echo just about everything that he chooses to mention."

Fair enough, but the question remains: Does 1Q84 deliver with insights into the mind of Japanese people? If so, what exactly does it say about their worldview?

1Q84 is the story of two people, Aomame and Tengo, separated during childhood but reunited as young adults drawn into a world heavily under the influence of powerful "Little People." In the world of 1Q84, Little People, who magically enter the world through the mouth of a dead goat, control weather and other natural phenomena. They manipulate both circumstances and people, expressing anger, issuing warnings, turning some into their agents—all this without the benefit of omnipotence or moral anchors. "We do not know if the so-called Little People are good or evil, " someone remarks. "But the important thing is that, whether they are good or evil, light or shadow, whenever they begin to exert their power, a compensatory force comes into being."

If 1Q84 reveals the worldview of modern Japanese, this exchange shows how central of a role Shinto continues to play in hearts and minds throughout the land of the Rising Sun, in spite of so many now claiming to have turned away from religion toward more urban ways of thinking. Shinto, also known as "kami no michi" (the way of kami), embraces the existence of divine forces that, like "Little People," are neither good nor evil, moral nor immoral: "kami are manifold; some kami are noble, while others are lowly, some are strong, whereas others are weak; again, some kami are good, while others are evil."* Once again, kami are like "Little People," everywhere and potentially in everything, including humans.

As in the world of 1Q84, which drew in Aomame and Tengo, the world wherein kami exist is unpredictable and dangerous. It is a world wherein the rules of ethics and morality may not apply. Instead, right thinking and right action are determined by "somatically enacted feelings"**; in other words, by conforming body and attitudes to the way things are and then acting accordingly. Such a world provides no absolute moral or physical safe harbor.

In 1Q84, the lives of Aomame and Tengo illustrate fear, hopelessness, despair, and a desire to escape from reality. If Murakami's portrayal accurately illustrates the worldview of modern Japanese with all of its vestiges of Shinto, then his work also stands as a call for answers that will truly serve the deepest needs of the hearts of his dear countrymen. At the Nippon Initiative, of course, we believe the worldview of biblical Christianity offers real and meaningful solutions to the world of Shinto and 1Q84. Strangely enough, Murakami himself opens that door as the story of 1Q84 unfolds. More about this in Part 2 of this review. 

 

*Robert S. Gall in "Kami and Daimōn: A Cross-cultural Reflection of what is divine," p. 64.

**Ibid, p. 67.

 

Click here for Part 2 of this review

Click here for Part 3 of this review

 

Disclaimer: Although 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami may be useful for gaining insight into modern day Japanese worldview, it contains content that most Christians will find offensive. Therefore, this review should not be construed as a recommendation for the book by the Nippon Initiative.