Haruki Murakami, born 12th January,1949 is a contemporary Japanese writer as well as translator of repute. His work was described as easily accessible and profoundly complex at the same time by Virginia Quarterly Review.

Haruki Murakami ,born in Kyoto, Japan post-war in 1949 as a part of baby boomer generation. He spent major part of his young life in Kobe. His father was a Buddhist priest’s son and mother was Osaka merchant’s daughter. Both were teachers of Japanese literature. Murakami was and still is quite influenced by the Western culture since childhood. In particular Western literature and music. Growing up he read a variety of books by American writers like Richard Brautigan and Kurt Vonnegut which has marked him as distinguished from other writers from Japan as his works reflect Western influence.

Murakami was a student of behavioral science in Waseda University of Tokyo, establishing himself as leading in research. He worked for his first job in record store (which subsequently was the inspiration for one of his major characters called Toru Watanabe in the novel Norwegian Wood). Just before completing his studies, Haruki Murakami with Yoko, his wife, opened a coffeehouse ( which turned into a jazz bar, evening onwards) Peter Cat in the area around Kokubunji of Tokyo. The bar ran from 1974 till 1981. Many of Murakami’s novels have themes on music and their titles too refer to classical music like the three books comprising Wind-Up Bird Chronicles: The Thief Magpie (after an orchestral overture by Rossini), Bird as Prophet (named on a piano performance by Robert Schuman), and also The Bird-Catcher which is a protagonist of a Mozart's opera entitled The Magic Flute). Few novels by him are also named after songs like Dance, Dance, Dance which is after a song The Dells, Norwegian Wood is after a Beatles' song and the South of Border, West of Sun is in part named after one of the song titles of Nat King Cole.

Murakami got a major breakthrough and national recognition in the year 1987 after the publication of his novel Norwegian Wood which is a story evoking nostalgia with themes of loss and sexuality. Millions of copies were sold to Japanese youth, elevating Murakami to sort of superstardom in the country of his birth. Murakami has also become a marathon runner of late at the ripe old age of 33. On 23rd June, 1996, Murakami finished his first ultramarathon when he ran for 100 kms in a race around Lake Saroma in Hokkaido, Japan. He talks about his relation with marathons in his work of 2008, What I Talk When….About Running.

Haruki Murakami’s works include Hear … Wind Sing in 1979, Pinball in 1985, Wild Sheep Chase in 1982, Hard Boiled Wonderland In 1985, the famous Norwegian Wood in 1987, Dance Dance Dance in 1988, South of Border, West of Sun in1992, Wind-Up Bird Chronicles from 1992-95, Sputnik Sweetheart in 1999, Kafka on Shore in 2002 and the latest After Dark in 2007.