History, “Subcultural Imagination,” and the Enduring Appeal of Murakami Haruki

This article examines discourses of subculture and their relationship to the fiction of Murakami Haruki. By tracing the connections between Murakami’s texts and their reception within the context of subculture (an aspect overlooked in English-language scholarship), we can better understand how he uses history—or more specifically, “false history” (gishi)—as more than simply an ironic, postmodern form of play. Murakami’s approach to history and world building coincided with the rise of otaku-style consumption, and the overlap between the two has helped to sustain his popularity at the same time as it has made his texts central to the shifting parameters of literature since the 1980s.