Murakami T

June 1, 2021

Hugely popular Japanese author Murakami offers fans a peek into his closet, stacked high with his beloved T-shirts, from the one that inspired the short story "Tony Takitani" to those celebrating Springsteen on Broadway and the Beach Boys in Honolulu. With numerous brief, revealing essays; a decidedly different book.

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September 6, 2021
In this collection of beguiling pieces novelist Murakami (1Q84) wrote for the Japanese fashion magazine Popeye, he reflects on his collection of T-shirts and the comfortable, quippy, and blithely consumerist aspects of life they represent. An “I Put Ketchup on My Ketchup” T-shirt prompts a fond tribute to American hamburger joints; a selection of car-brand shirts sparks a discussion of why Ferrari or Porsche T’s make one look like a rich jerk while Volkswagen T’s are tastefully middle-class; lizard T-shirt images remind Murakami of uneasily stroking the scaly creature at a zoo, while bird images remind him of getting attacked by crows while out running; and a T-shirt with a dog cartoon provokes a warning to men that they may feel “a little uncomfortable” wearing such adorable designs: “chances are very good that a girl or woman will tell you ‘Woah—that’s so cute!’ ” Seekers of deep cultural analysis should be advised that Murakami’s pensées resolutely avoid that. (“In crowded, noisy bars,” he observes in an essay on beer T-shirts, “you have to shout out your order to the bartender, and I’ve found through experience that the one brand I can pronounce so that it gets through to them is Heineken.”) Murakami’s many fans will eat up this charming ramble. Agent: Amanda Urban, ICM Partners.

September 15, 2021
We collectors love to organize, gaze at, even fondle the objects of our ardor--whatever they happen to be, from jewelry to pulp paperbacks, or, as is the case with Haruki Murakami, T-shirts. Even better than all that gazing and fondling are the memories that revisiting our collections prompt: Where did we find that shirt? What were we doing the day we found it. Murakami goes one step further: a whole book about his T-shirts, not just where they came from but also why he wears or doesn't wear them, as well as musings on being an inadvertent collector: ""Carried away by some emotion I can't even name, I wind up gathering things around me."" Murakami's charming, utterly self-effacing eccentricity--one of the hallmarks of his fiction--shines brightly here, as he goes through his shirts (many of which are stored in cardboard boxes), sorting by theme, concluding that his favorites fall into a category he calls ""meaning unknown."" Naturally, the text, which began as a series of magazine articles, is fully illustrated, allowing us to do our own virtual fondling.

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October 15, 2021
The popular writer dishes on one of his unusual hobbies. Murakami admits he's not really a serious collector, but he does have many vinyl records, books, dinky little pencils, and T-shirts "that just keep on piling up." These short, witty, and conversational essays originally appeared in a Japanese men's fashion magazine. No suspense here, as he immediately confesses his "Tony Takitani" shirt he bought in Maui for $1 is his favorite. It inspired Murakami to write a story about him, which later became a film--absolute, best investment I ever made, he tells us, tongue-in-cheek. The author's personal interests and shirts often coalesce, like surfing and swimming shirts, sports he enjoyed; hamburgers (preferably American) and ketchup; whiskey, which he enjoys while listening to music, mostly jazz; and beers, especially Guinness, in Ireland--"Talk about tasty." Murakami has a number of promotional shirts from his publishers that he doesn't wear; it wouldn't be right walking around "loudly proclaiming" himself. An avid, global visitor of record stores, he's amassed a sizable number of their shirts. He also likes animal-design T's--"they are pretty cute." He is partial to shirts with just writing on them, and he likes to get shirts as souvenirs of music concerts he's attended. For example, he proudly discussed a Bruce Springsteen T from the recent Broadway concert and a Beach Boys Smile tour T from a few years back. He wears his VW Beetle T because it doesn't "seem like you're putting on airs." A committed long-distance runner, Murakami has many shirts that commemorate his races, including the Murakami (no relation) Triathlon. No surprise that he has some related to books, including one from Portland, Oregon's Powell's Books, a free gift for signing some books. This lively peek into his collection provides some surprising insights into the humble, real Murakami. A playful, witty, nostalgic journey with an acclaimed novelist.

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