Murakami opens up on music, novels, running

Tokyo: Best- selling Japanese author Haruki Murakami, hosting a special radio show featuring some of his favorite songs he jogs to, says writing novels is about rhythm, as in music and running.

Murakami Radio, a prerecorded show broadcast Sunday night, featured as its themes two crucial elements of his life as a novelist: running and music.

During the 55- minute show, Murakami played nine numbers he enjoys running to — rock and jazz — selected from thousands of titles stored on several iPods, while sharing stories behind the songs and talking about running and writing.

A perennial contender for the Nobel literature prize, Murakami said he initially had no intention of becoming a writer. After finishing university, he was running a jazz bar in Tokyo and music was his thing, and that's where his style comes from, he said.

“Rather than learning storytelling technique from someone, I’ve taken a musical approach, while being very conscious about rhythms, harmony and improvisation,” the 69- year- old Murakami said on the radio.

“It’s like writing as I dance, even though I don't actually dance. For me, writing tends to be a very physical process, and that’s my style.”

A native of Kyoto, Murakami has precise memories of when he decided to become a writer: at around 1: 30 pm On April 1, 1978, while attending a baseball game at Tokyo’s Jingu Stadium — home to the underdog Japanese baseball team the Yakult Swallows, his favorite — where he saw an American named Dave Hilton hit a double, he wrote in his 2007 memoir,

“What I Talk About When I Talk About Running.”

Murakami’s first novel, Hear the Wind Sing, came

out in 1979.

His 1987 romantic novel

Norwegian Wood was his first best- seller, establishing him as a young literary star. Recent best- sellers include 1Q84, Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage and his latest novel, Killing Commandatore. Music serves as important motifs in his stories, and he has also written books on the topic.

Murakami started running soon after becoming a novelist, initially to lose weight he had gained from long hours of sitting and writing.

He has since become a serious runner, completing more than 30 marathons.

He said he runs to keep up his physical strength. “When you write, your physical ability is extremely important,” he said. “You sit all day and keep writing, so it takes a lot of energy, even though many people don't seem to believe me. Rock music is his usual choice for running to keep a steady pace,” he said.

Rather than learning storytelling, I’ve taken a musical approach, while being conscious about rhythms and harmony

— Haruki Murakami,

Author