Peter Cat: the past Life and present Life of Haruki Murakami's Private Jazz Cafe

If you are a reader of Haruki Murakami, you are no stranger to the idea that he is a serious jazz fanatic. In Japan in the sixties and seventies of the last century, Murakami was as confused and agitated as his college students of the same age. the difference is that he had a tendency to avoid the world. American literature and jazz are undoubtedly his ways to escape from the real world around him. To this day, he can still recite the cast of Sir Art Blakey in one breath. Meanwhile, Haruki Murakami is addicted to caffeine.

Haruki Murakami was a student in 1974. Like the protagonists in his novels, he reads novels every day, rarely goes to school, takes odd jobs in Shinjuku, and spends his evenings in kabuki-cho jazz bars. At that time, he had only two friends, one of whom, Yoko, was his later wife.

At the time, Mr. and Mrs. Murakami opened a jazz cafe called Peter Cat at Koko Temple, outside Tokyo. The name of the store comes from a cat raised by Murakami during his short stay in Sanying City. The coffee shop featuring jazz music was already famous before Murakami became famous.

Speaking of the reason for opening a private jazz coffee shop, Haruki Murakami mentioned in an interview at that time: "Jazz coffee shop is a place to provide jazz music." The so-called jazz, I think, is a kind of value benchmark of life. In the vast stream of time, how does our life shine in the wind and burn out in the wind? When we immerse ourselves in jazz, we feel like we can find something. If the owner of the jazz coffee shop forgets this sense of mission, it will be over.

In 1977, Murakami moved Peter Cat's storefront from Guofen Temple to Thousand Tuo Valley in the city center, which undoubtedly reminds us of "Jay's Bar" in "listen to the Wind" because they are on the second floor. It is close to the Meiji Shrine Baseball Stadium (Meiji Jingu Stadium), where Murakami often watches baseball games. When young American David Hilton (Dave Hilton) hit a second base hit, a beautiful arc in the air hit Haruki Murakami sitting outside the court drinking beer, and he immediately came up with the idea of writing a novel.

While running Peter Cat, Haruki Murakami wrote his first book, "and listen to the Wind." Soon "listening to the Wind" won him the "Rookie Award for Group Portrait".

In 1981, 32-year-old Murakami sold Peter Cat, which he had run for seven years, to a friend, moved out of Tokyo and decided to become a full-time writer.

Peter Cat's figure is now impossible to find, just like Murakami's inexplicably missing figure, disappeared from the map of Tokyo. However, the original site of Peter Cat in Thousand Tuo Valley has now become a restaurant called CAFEJAMAICAUDON. I believe that interested readers will take a look at it, and there may still be the unique imprint of Haruki Murakami.