The Journey Within: My reflections on Kafka on the shore

 

Kafka Tamura, the strongest 15-year-old in the world.

If you know and are here, chances are you already know him and have read his story OR are wanting to know about him. If it’s the latter, I would suggest stop here and go read Kafka on the shore by Haruki Murakami first. I have not read other works of Murakami yet, however, for this one I can say it is meant to be read and interpreted with a fresh perspective without external bias.

While the book in itself is a whole world, I would like to shift my focus and bring my observation for the three characters I enjoyed very much:

Kafka Tamura – The conscious thinker:

We are introduced to his world with the boy named Crow (his imaginary friend).

Growing up under his father’s menacing shadow, Kafka lived with a constant reminder of his supposed fate - a prophecy etched into him from childhood: that he would fall in love with his mother and sleep with his sister.

He decides on running away on turning 15 with his imaginary friend Crow by his side. This is not just some rebellious fantasy, but a resolve to escape his supposed fate.

Kafka is on a journey to free himself from this supposed fate, in this journey he meets Sakura who is older to him and treats him as a younger brother. However, he is instantly attracted to her and this makes him believe she is his long-lost sister. Nevertheless, she helps him on his way and provides much needed advice.

He then meets Oshima at the prestigious library who is perceptive of his situation and offers him a helping hand.

Kafka begins living and helping out in Komura Memorial Library which becomes a place of refuge, introspection and quite transformation for Kafka gradually. Kafka alternates between the library and Oshimas secluded cabin in the mountains to avoid too much attention from the police.

He is intrigued by the dense forest behind it, however, stays away from the entrance to the forest due to Oshimas warning. When push comes to shove, he decides to venture in the jungle, ready with necessities.

Kafka in the middle of the jungle, fighting hard to breathe, to find his way and finally giving up his material possessions (water canteen, ruck sack, with essential items) symbolizing his surrender to the jungle becoming a part of it. His journey to the edge of the world, where time dissolves into abstraction, becomes a powerful symbol of his inner struggle against deeply buried demons.

Kafka’s journey to the edge of the world yet being trapped within his mind, nevertheless the awareness of the action to be taken, this moment is one of transcendence. To hold onto your sense of self while you have only been groomed to turn into a monster. This awareness does not erase struggle but illuminates the path forward.

Kafka at 15 years old is an epitome of a conscious thinker, someone whose outward journey mirrors the journey within, a quite determination of holding onto his sense of self. To recognize right from wrong, to knowingly step into what feels wrong, and still emerge on the other side with a deeper understanding of the change that is needed, this is real awareness.

Mr Hoshino – The unconscious seeker:

One of the best character development arcs I have come across in a novel. A seemingly aimless and shady young truck driver who for reasons even he cannot explain, decides to help this gentle cat talking old man (Mr Nakata) on his strange journey.

What had begun as a random act of kindness takes Hoshino on a journey of transformation. Hoshino who once drifted through life without direction and was an example of unconscious living. His transformation is subtle, here Murakami’ music sensibility is revealed when Hoshino comes across Archduke trio in a jazz café, when he is awakened to the subtle changes within him.

Rather than being anxious he welcomes the change in his thought, in his action, grateful even for the awakening due to his acquaintance with Mr Nakata. He decides to see it through to the end.

His transformation is not loud or heroic - it is subtle, steady, and deeply human. What Nakata’s educated family could not understand, Hoshino embraces instinctively. And even after Nakata’s passing, Hoshino chooses to continue what they started, patiently waiting for a sign, trusting something beyond reason.

Hoshino symbolizes you can drift through life without direction just being alive but not living. However, life at any given opportunity may find you. And when it does, what matters is you grab the chance and make the most of it.

Sada (Oshima’s elder brother) – The silent witness, Steady support:

The only one, apart from Kafka who has experienced the forest for what it truly is, has been to the edge of the world and returned.

A silent yet assuring presence, who does not impose any suggestions / ideas. Instead he provides the space to Kafka to absorb his experiences and find his way through it. A quite friend, who after his journey to the edge of the world, facing his demons and has found peace. He chooses to live freely, on his own terms without explanation or intervention.

Since we do not have a backstory for him, we can interpret his journey as once a unconscious human who dared to break through the dense forest of his inner demons and journey to the edge of his world coming out the other side.

The closure conundrum:

While there are many questions remain unanswered by the end of the book, you do not feel the need for closure. Because in life may not everything offers a closure, instead you learn to work your way through its inconsistencies and create your own sense of closure.

If you have read Kafka on the shore by Haruki Murakami, I would love to hear your thoughts and interpretations. The book is rich with content to be interpreted and reads like an incomplete poem.