Murakami’s Take on the Cooling Relations in East Asia

In yesterday’s Asahi Shimbun, author Haruki Murakami was most likely asked to respond to the removal of books by Japanese authors from many bookstores in China (since he starts by talking about how he can make no real comment about it at this time). His article (which is around 1000 words and took up the full above the fold on page 3) touches on that issue, but spends most of its time discussing the needless damage being done to the cultural sphere in East Asia and calls for sober heads.

The headline in Japanese is, 「魂の行き来する道筋」, the image this creates is the image of a soul or spirit taking a path, most likely the path is one it often takes to and from two places. It is not easy to translate that image for me, especially without time to sit on it, but for now I translated it as “The Path the Soul Travels”. The whole of the article in my sloppy translation is below:

I received word that in the overheating dispute over the Senkaku Islands, books written by Japanese authors have disappeared from shelves in bookstores in China. As one such author, I was truly shocked. I do not know the details about whether this move was a boycott orchestrated by the government or an act of protest chosen freely by the shops. Therefore, at this time I will refrain from passing judgment on that decision.

In only the past twenty years, one of the most delightful achievements in East Asia is the formation of a unique cultural sphere. One major cause of this formation is the rapid growth of the economies of China, South Korea and Taiwan. Stemming from the establishment of stronger economic systems of these countries, equal exchange of culture has become possible. Many cultural products (intellectual property) now seem to flow over borders between countries. Common rules have been established, the once constant presence of bootlegs and pirated goods in this area have gradually disappeared (or the number has greatly reduced) and in many cases advances and royalties are now paid out legitimately.

To summarize my own experience, “the road here was long.” Previously, the situation was much worse. I do not want to complicate things beyond the issue at hand, so I will not give details about exactly how much worse, but the current climate has improved remarkably. The East Asia culture sphere has steadily matured to reach the status of a rich, mature, stable market. While individual problems remain, the market for music, literature, movies, television are fundamentally traded in a fair, even manner. Many people are able to obtain and enjoy these products. I truly believe this can be called an amazing achievement.

For example, the hit status of Korean dramas in Japan has caused Japanese people to embrace Korean culture with greater affection than ever before. As a result, the number of people studying the Korean language has also rapidly increased. Exchange has also become stronger. While working at an American university, Chinese and Korean exchange students often dropped by my office. I was always surprised at the amount of my works they had voraciously read and the many things we were able to discuss. Countless people, across many years have devoted themselves to create such a friendly environment. As one player in this creation, although of poor ability, I have put effort into its continuation. If we are able to continue this stable exchange, there will still be problems between us and neighboring East Asian countries, it will likely take time, but over time I truly hope that we must gradually move towards resolution. One of the major purposes of cultural exchange is that it makes us recognize that even though the words we speak are different, as human beings we all share the same feelings and emotions. That is to say, the path the soul walks transcends borders.

As an Asian author and as a Japanese person, the destruction of such an honest achievement by the problems surrounding the Senkaku and Takeshima Islands frightens me.

Borders exist, and unfortunately (which ought to be said) problems over territory are inevitable. However, problems over territory are problems with the possibility of a practical solution. Moreover, I believe it is a matter that must be solved practically. If you think of territorial problems as problems where public sentiment is being intruded on – that becomes a dangerous situation with no exit. It is similar to being drunk on cheap alcohol. The alcohol goes straight to your head with only a few glasses. People become boisterous, wild and rude. Reasoning becomes simplistic and repetitive. When the liveliness dies down and the morning comes the only thing that remains is a painful headache.

We must be extremely cautious of the pundits and politicians who behave like people drunk on cheap alcohol and fan the flames. In the 1930s, in order to solidify political power, Adolf Hitler used restoring territory lost during World War I as the foundation of his political policy. We all know how well that ended. The reasons that the situation surrounding the Senkaku Islands has become so dire must be soberly examined by both sides at a later date. Politicians and pundits only drum-up people by their chest-thumping, but they are only hurting the individuals who are actually involved.

In my novel The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, I cover the Battle of Khalkhin Gol (Nomonhan Incident) which happened in 1939 along the border of Mongolia and Manchuria. The battle was caused by a border dispute and although it was short, it was brutal. In the fierce fighting between Japanese forces and the combined Mongolian-Soviet forces, close to 20,000 lives were lost. After I finished the book, I visited the battle site. It still had ammunition and the belongings of fallen soldiers scattered around. I was struck with a feeling of hopelessness: “Why did people have to kill each other over a meaningless, barren piece of land in the middle of the wilderness.”

As I wrote earlier, in regard to Chinese bookstores removing books by Japanese authors from the shelves, I am in no position to comment. That is a domestic problem for China. As an author, I think it is a very regrettable thing, but there is nothing I can offer to do about it. To be clear, all I am saying is that in response to China’s act, I urge that we do not retaliate in kind. If we were to do so, it would become our problem – the same problem would rebound onto us. Instead, if we show we can act with a calm attitude and state, “no matter the circumstances, we will not lose appropriate respect for the culture of other countries,” it would be a great achievement for us. That would be the exact opposite of acting like a cheap drunk.

One day you will sober up. However, you must not block the path the soul travels. To make that path, many people spent long years and like the spread of blood, their efforts spread. From now on, no matter what, this important path must continue to be maintained.