Although I'm in the middle of a series of posts, I'd like to write about the Haruki Murakami Library today. It's located on the Waseda University campus. One of my friends invited to visit it with her, and I was looking forward to going. Waseda is her alma mater, so she's really familiar with the campus and the surrounding area.

I wasn't that familiar with his works, so I borrowed his highly-acclaimed early work The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle from the bookmobile and read it before going. I found it intriguing and read it in just a couple of sittings — which was unusual for me. It's kind of dreamy, but realistic at the same time. The protagonist is, at least on the surface, just an ordinary guy, and a lot of eccentric characters keep showing up and tell him their stories. All of them are talented storytellers — as if they're Haruki Murakami! — although they speak in different styles. So, I admit it was quite fascinating, but if you ask me whether I like it, I'd say not really. It's difficult to explain the reason in English. The day I'm able to do that, I'll consider my English advanced.

I was a bit surprised to learn that he's from Kansai because almost none of the characters in his works speak in the Kansai dialect. In an early interview, he explained that he writes in English first and then translates it into Japanese and that's what constitutes his style. That may be one of the reasons why I feel his style is uniquely fictional and breached, so to speak. However, it also makes his works universal, I think.

Anyway, he's certainly a great author, and the library is well worth visiting if you're a fan. You can read all of his extensive works there, and it's really a cozy space. I was a bit disappointed that I couldn't listen to his vinyl record collection. He's a music lover and there's a room where his collection and audio setup were recreated. A guide said that they played vinyl records when it first opened, but they stopped because the stylus was too expensive.

My friend suggested we visit the Tsubouchi Memorial Theatre Museum on the campus, and we visited that as well. It was also well worth seeing. I was especially interested in the exhibits on traditional performing arts, folk arts, and festivals. Photography wasn't allowed, so I don't have any pictures to share, but I really enjoyed seeing them.