Three Japanese Studies researchers examine gender, narrator types and music across Haruki Murakami’s writing.
A new novel as the starting point
The talk is prompted by the Japanese publication of his 2026 novel The Tale of Kaho and avoids plot details from the new work.
Speakers and themes
Dr Gitte Marianne Hansen opens with gender criticism and narrator types leading up to Murakami’s latest work. PhD candidate Yueying Wu compares representations of the female body in The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle and the short story “Kaho”. Dr Matteo Giacchè closes with the ways music shapes narrators, characters and narrative construction across Murakami’s fiction.
The speakers bring research spanning gender and character construction, transnational female embodiment, manga, music and Japanese literary studies.
In person or online
The talk runs from 18:00 to 19:30, with in-person doors at 17:45. Attend in room 1.17 of Newcastle University’s Frederick Douglass Centre or join online through Zoom. Both options are free, but each requires advance registration through the official page.
Newcastle Central Station is around a 15-minute walk from the university, and Haymarket is the closest Metro station. The university has no general campus parking, although limited visitor spaces may be available for people with mobility needs.
Event-specific access, quiet-space, companion and content arrangements are not published. See the Japan Foundation event page and Newcastle University travel guidance before attending.
Cover image
Original AI-generated thematic illustration. It does not depict Haruki Murakami, the speakers, any book cover, the actual event, organiser or venue.