Everybody’s favourite Japanese author Haruki Murakami has announced, in his first press conference in 37 years, that he will donate his entire vinyl collection to Tokyo’s Waseda University.
Accompanying the 10,000 strong (mostly jazz) record collection, he is donating his original manuscripts and personal letters to his alma mater.
Haruki Murakami is set to donate his entire vinyl collection, as well as his original manuscripts, to Waseda University.
According to the Japan Times, the 69-year-old author said that his donation “is a very important thing for me, so I thought I should explain clearly… I don’t have any children, and it would cause trouble for me if those materials became scattered or lost.”
Waseda University has graciously accepted the donation, stating that they hope to recreate Murakami’s home study on campus, complete with records and bookshelves.
“I couldn’t be happier if [the centre] will help those who want to study my works. I hope it will be something that promotes cultural exchange,” Murakami added.
In 1968, Murakami entered Waseda University as a drama student at the former School of Humanities (now part of the School of Culture, Media and Society) and was involved in the Japanese student rallies of the ’60s that took place at the university. He also used Waseda University as a setting in his seminal work Norwegian Wood as the meeting place of the main characters, Watanabe and Midori.
In August, Haruki Murakami hosted his first ever radio show on Tokyo FM, DJing with his own records. For fans of Murakami’s music collection, there is an epic 228-hour playlist on Spotify consolidating his collection plus every record he’s referenced in his fiction work, non-fiction work and in interviews.
Via Resident Advisor
