Haruki Murakami

Haruki Murakami is a Japanese novelist and translator, born on 12 January 1949 in Fushimi-ku, Kyoto. He grew up in the Kobe area and, before turning to writing, ran a small jazz bar in Tokyo with his wife. He began writing fiction in his late twenties, and his first novel appeared in 1979. Since then he has become one of the most widely read Japanese authors in the world, with books translated into dozens of languages.

His fiction blends everyday life with the strange and dreamlike. Quiet narrators, lost cats, wells, music and unexplained events recur in his work, along with themes of loneliness, memory and the search for connection. He is also known for translating American writers into Japanese and for his memoir about long-distance running. His influences include Western music and literature as much as Japanese tradition, which helps explain his broad international appeal.