10 Amazing Things You Didn't Know About Haruki Murakami

2. Japanese Writer Ryu Murakami Once Gave Him A Cat

Another regular Murakami trope is the inclusion of cats. Cats show up everywhere in Murakami, from 1Q84's Town Of Cats to Kafka On The Shore's talking cats. Murakami has always been extremely transparent about his love for the fluffy little felines. In an essay in 1989, Murakami claimed that he has owned more than ten cats over the course of his life. In fact, he can barely recall not living with at least one cat in his house since 1974. In the same essay, he also claims that he was gifted a cat called Kirin by fellow Japanese novelist Ryu Murakami (whose work is known to be much darker and more violent than Haruki's).
Contributor
Contributor

Commonly found reading, sitting firmly in a seat at the cinema (bottle of water and a Freddo bar, please) or listening to the Mountain Goats.