Haruki Murakami wins Jerusalem Prize

JERUSALEM —

Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami won the Jerusalem Prize for his ‘‘artistic achievements and love of people’’ Sunday, becoming the first non-European-language writer to receive the Israeli literary prize.

In his speech at the ceremony, Murakami, 60, stressed that each person must work to stop states and organizations from getting out of control, apparently criticizing Israel’s recent large-scale offensive in the Gaza Strip.

Murakami said he thought that attending the ceremony might give the impression that he supports Israel’s dependence on its overwhelming military but said he eventually decided to ‘‘speak rather than say nothing.’‘

During the 15-minute speech in English, he warned that the system, which is supposed to protect people, ‘‘sometimes takes on a life of its own and it begins to kill us and cause us to kill others coldly, efficiently and systematically.’‘

In writing novels, he always keeps in mind a high, solid wall, and an egg that breaks against it. ‘‘I will always stand on the side of the egg,’’ he said.

The wall is a metaphor for the system and the egg represents each person’s soul enclosed in a fragile shell, according to Murakami.

‘‘We are all fragile eggs faced with a solid wall called the system….To all appearances, we have no hope…the wall is too high and too strong…If we have any hope of victory at all, it will have to come from our utter uniqueness,’’ he said.

‘‘Each of us possesses a tangible living soul. The system has no such thing. We must not allow the system to exploit us,’’ he added.

While he received loud applause from the audience of around 700, a middle-aged man said he was offended due to the speech’s political content. He said it is wrong to criticize Israel when receiving a prize from the nation.

Murakami’s attendance came despite criticism from pro-Palestinian groups, including a Japanese nongovernmental organization, that receiving the award would lead to defending Israeli policy regarding the Palestinians.

The Jerusalem Prize winner is selected by a panel of judges appointed by the Jerusalem mayor and is given to authors whose writings have expressed the idea of individual freedom in society, according to the award presenter.

Noting that Murakami’s books have been translated into 40 different languages and have garnered acclaim the world over, including in Israel, the presenter said the decision to confer the prize to him was ‘‘made out of profound esteem for his artistic achievements and love of people.’’

‘‘His humanism is clearly reflected in his writings,’’ the presenter said.

Several of Murakami’s works such as ‘‘Norwegian Wood’’ have been translated into Hebrew and he is a widely known novelist in Israel.

Past winners of the Jerusalem Prize, created in 1963, include U.S. playwright Arthur Miller and British philosopher Bertrand Russell.

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Latest 15 of 16 Total Comments Show All

bebert at 03:43 PM JST - 16th February

Good for Murakami, but he could have gone further and rejected the award in person. Probably not a Japanese thing to do. An anti-zionist American would have thrown the award to the ground and either stepped on it or urinated on it. A little uncouth, but Americans can be charming that way.
daraho at 05:10 PM JST - 16th February

Those who know Murakami Haruki will realise that he is a moral person who is well travelled, well informed, and an ardent humanist. He would certainly make the division in his mind between the ordinary people of a particular country and the cold blooded actions of the establishment/system. It was entirely appropriate for him to make the comments he made and I am proud of him for doing so. He remains true to himself and sends a strong message to Israel that the world is watching.
ultradodgy at 05:10 PM JST - 16th February

Anyone interested in Japan - and, heck, the world at large - who hasn't read his works needs to start NOW!
bebert at 05:29 PM JST - 16th February

I agree. I think I'm going to read two of his books this year, probably Norwegian Wood and his most recent short story collection. Just as soon as I finish reading a few of Endo's lesser novels.

For those interested in Endo, definitely you need to read Silence and Deep River, but also consider The Girl I Left Behind - not in public, of course, it's a tear jerker.
moonbeams at 07:22 PM JST - 16th February

I really recommend reading his books in Japanese other than a translation. It's worth learning Japanese for.

I started my first Murakami book almost 2 years ago, it took me an hour to read a page.. 3200 pages later and can get through a page in 5-10 minutes. Great writer, great human being.
bishamonten at 05:40 AM JST - 17th February

moonbeams

I think I have near enough read all he has written that has been translated into English & where normally I have reservations about reading any translation I don’t in Murakami’s case because some years ago I read an interview with him & he said that to keep the pace in his writing he writes first in English & then translates into Japanese. It seems he taught himself English from reading American novels. Granted I have never heard him speak English so wouldn’t like to say how that particular project turned out.
illsayit at 07:27 PM JST - 17th February

It is worth listening to the speech! Brilliant!
888naff at 08:48 PM JST - 17th February

A Jerusalem Prize for ‘‘artistic achievements and love of people’’

A prize from Jerusalem for that...theres got to be some irony there.
smithinjapan at 09:42 AM JST - 18th February

This guy has long been a hero of mine, and he has just proven to be moreso. Amazing... and the words he said should be inspiration for all; he didn't take any particular sides in the ensuing conflict, etc. Good job again, Murakami.
jeancolmar at 08:38 AM JST - 19th February

Were I Murakami I would have refused this prize in light of Israel's Gaza outrage and its continuing racist policies against Palestinians and its own Arab citizens. Having gone to Israel, he could have been more forceful in denouncing Israeli murder and racism, as have previous Jerusalem Prize winners Susan Sontag and Arthur Miller.

A prize from Israel is no prize to be proud of at this point. One of the last countries to be qualified to give an award for the love of people is Israel.
ultradodgy at 12:03 PM JST - 19th February

jeancolmar - fair enough, but then again think of the attention it's brought to the issue (admittedly there is a lot of attention already) to foks who may not typically be up to speed on the ongoing drama - I think he did the right thing; accept the prize, and caveat it all with some thoughtful words on the issues at hand.
moonbeams at 07:49 PM JST - 20th February

bishamonten, I've glanced through some translations and they just don't hold up to the original.　in no way the fault of the translators, lots of Murakami's writing is untranslatable, so the translators have to come up with a new technique. For example the way Nakata speaks in Kafka, or the 私／僕 narration of hardboiled wonderland
mugwort at 02:42 PM JST - 21st February

Murakami is my favourite novelist, alas, I've only read his stories in translation into English. It seems he was wise to go to Israel and speak his mind, and the mind of other thinking people in the world, directly to the Israelis.
svenka at 11:11 PM JST - 21st February

Let's get a few things straight here. Murakami is nothing more than a pseudo-Western hack. His novels are wooden and highly derivative although he manages to fool your average idiotic Japanophile with a dash of quirkyness here and there. If his name was John Smith and wrote the exact same stuff he wouldn't even sell.
Instead of accepting kudos from the Israelis and waxing pious about 'souls' and 'the system' he should be focusing on the shocking state of affairs in Japan....racism, child pornography etc...
70x4060d at 10:59 PM JST - 22nd February

So what can we make of this?