Depictions of Emotions in Haruki Murakami’s After Dark: A Semantic Analysis1

Haruko Sera

１．Introduction

After Dark is an English translation of Haruki Murakami’s Afutā Dāku. Murakami is widely read around the globe. He is now probably Japan’s best-known novelist abroad. Afutā Dāku is translated into about 20 languages. The aim of this article is to examine how emotions are depicted in After Dark. The English translator is Jay Rubin, who is the professor of Japanese literature at Harvard University. He is also the translator into English of Murakami’s The Wind-up Bird Chronicle, Norwegian Wood, After the Quake, and 1Q84. As often seen in Murakami’s works, in After Dark, several separate storylines get intertwined little by little as the story proceeds until fi nally it turns out that they are all connected or related. First, readers meet a young girl, Mari Asai, who is sitting alone and reading a thick book in an all-night diner, Denny’s. It is almost midnight. Another protagonist, a young man, Takahashi, comes in. They seem to have met each other before. Later, after Takahashi is gone, a stout woman, Kaoru, comes in, looking for Mari. Kaoru is a manager of the Alphaville Hotel, where a Chinese prostitute has been beaten up by a client, Shirakawa. Kaoru comes to ask for Mari’s help because Mari studies Chinese at university. Readers also learn that Mari’s beautiful sister Eri sleeps deeply, almost in a coma state, in her bedroom. She has lain asleep for two months. Following the ways these people are gradually connected, the present study will examine what roles emotions play when these stories are told.

２．Acceptance in the world

Although there is no doubt that Murakami is widely accepted all over the world,

1 This paper is based on the presentation given at the PALA (Poetics and Linguistics Association) annual conference in July 2014 at Maribor University in Slovenia.

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people are divided over the reasons for his global popularity. A Wild Haruki Chase: Reading Murakami Around the World (2008) is based on the symposium held in Japan in March 2006 for which many Murakami translators and researchers gathered. They discussed why Haruki Murakami is so widely read and accepted in many countries.

2. 1 Cultural scentlessness One of the facilitators, Yomota, a Japanese researcher, explains as follows.

Unlike the works of his Japanese predecessors . . . Murakami’s works are not being translated and consumed overseas as those of an author who represents Japanese culture. In every society, his works are first accepted as texts that assuage the political disillusionment, romantic impulses, loneliness, and emptiness of readers. Only later do they fully realize that the author was born in Japan and that the books are actually translations. While it is true that Murakami is a Japanese writer who writes in Japanese, the cultural sensibility that he draws on, the music and fi lms that appear in his works, and the urban way of life that he depicts are all of a nature that cannot be attributed to any single place or people, drifting and circulating as they do in this globalized world. (Yomota, 2008: 34-35)

Yomota interprets that it‘was in the context of cultural scentlessness . . . that his works crossed the national boundaries and gained a strong following overseas’(Yomota, 2008: 35-36).

2. 2 US Translators from various countries seem to basically agree with Yomota. Roland Kelts, the author of Japanamerica: How Japanese Pop Culture has Invaded the U.S., suggests that American readers share with Murakami something beyond expressions, like some elements of their dreams.

They see in Murakami narratives the tones and colors of their own dreams, expressions of something lyrical yet pure, and partly ineff able. Something they know and feel, but maybe cannot explain. (Kelts, 2008: 56)

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2. 3 Korea Kim is the translator into Korean of Kafka on the Shore. She thinks Yomota’s keyword, cultural scentlessness,‘may be insufficient in explaining the acceptance of Murakami beyond generational diff erence’(Kim, 2008: 70). However, scentlessness still seems to play an important role as a common ground for young Koreans to share‘a cultural code’ with Murakami and to fi nd a‘revelation’ to them.

While Murakami’s works are founded on an attitude of criticism toward a consumerist culture, the criticism is expressed not in the form of painful screams but in an ever- cool manner. Coupled with the effect of the sense of loss that imbues his works, I believe that his literature, which seeks ways to live in the capitalist society of the here and now rather than turning its back on reality, has off ered a revelation to young South Koreans. It may be said that they have found in Murakami a cultural code with which they can share their own confl icts and woes, a code that perfectly speaks for them. (My emphasis) (Kim, 2008: 70)

2. 4 Russia According to Ivan Logachov, a Russian translator, Russian readers may be able to ‘resolve’ their own problems by reading Murakami’s works. Of course, Russian readers live far away from where Murakami’s protagonists live, but‘cultural scentlessness’ helps them feel as if they were in Murakami’s world.

The protagonist’s self-awareness, and his loneliness arising from social alienation, an issue frequently addressed by Haruki Murakami, is one that is vitally important and familiar to Russian society today. . . . Because life in Russia has lately become insecure and precarious, just as in Murakami’s world, Russian readers may be able to discover their own identity and resolve problems involving personal relationships by reading Murakami’s works. His protagonists, who embody contemporary society, off er answers to a variety of compelling questions, such as what human beings are about and what we are living for. (Logachov, 2008: 74-75)

2. 5 Mirror neurons: empathy and emotion Richard Powers, an American writer, tries to explain Murakami’s international

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success focusing on‘the mirroring neuron’, one of the most remarkable discoveries in neuroscience. Although further researches are needed in order to know more about mirror neurons, and Powers’ analysis is suggestive rather than rigorously theoretical, his explanation seems insightful and convincing.

One explanation for his astonishing international success may be this deep attunement to the strangeness of the distributed and modular brain―a strangeness not culturally constructed but in itself the fundamental transcultural and universalizing condition. (Powers, 2008: 49)

If his work could be said to have one overriding theme, one irresistible attraction, it must be this deep and playful knowledge: No one can tell where“I” leaves off and others begin. The maze of mind will always stand between us and the real. But the inescapable cavern of the brain leaves a single way out: the empathetic leap, transnational commerce, the mirroring neuron. (Powers, 2008: 54)

Koji Sato, one of the symposium programme offi cers, pays attention to the important role of‘heart’ , or emotion. He thinks the‘issue of ties of the heart’ might be explained by the existence of mirror neurons.

I also felt strongly that the real reason behind the Murakami boom is his fundamental engagement with matters of the heart as a central literary theme. With regard to this issue of ties of the heart, I would like to thank Richard Powers for shedding light on the universal appeal of Murakami’s works using the cutting-edge science of mirror neurons. (My emphasis) (Sato, 2008: 127)

Readers around the world can easily feel sympathetic to Murakami’s protagonists, fi rstly by‘cultural scentlessness’, as Yomota points out. Not only feeling sympathetic, however, people also need to be empathic to fi nd an answer to their own questions. The empathic leap through mirror neurons, as Powers explains, could shed light on the ties of the heart, as suggested by Sato’s comment quoted above. The‘ties of the heart’ can be considered to be equivalent to emotional involvement.

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The following two chapters focus on emotional expressions found in some literary works, based on my previous studies and in Murakami’s After Dark.

３．Semantic analysis of Snow County and other stories using Wmatrix

3. 1 Wmatrix This section examines depictions of emotions in works of literature, based on sematic analysis using a Web-based corpus analysis and comparison software, Wmatrix. Wmatrix uses USAS2 to tag texts semantically. Table 1 shows the USAS tagset.3 The present study is going to focus mainly on two categories, E: emotion and X: psychological actions, states and processes. The latter category is related to expressing emotions. B: the body and the individual and H: architecture, housing and the home, will also be briefl y mentioned.

Table 1 USAS tagset A B C E general and abstract the body and arts and crafts emotion terms the individual F G H I food and farming government architecture, housing money and commerce and public and the home in industry K L M N entertainment, sports life and movement, location, numbers and and games living things travel and transport measurement O P Q S substances, materials, education language and social actions, objects and equipment communication states and processes T W X Y Time world and environment psychological science and technology actions, states and processes Z names and grammar

The following is the list of subdivisions of the E: emotion category. A few prototypical examples are added to each subdivision. Pluses (+) or minuses (-), which are optional,

2 USAS = UCREL Semantic Analysis System (UCREL=University Centre for Corpus Research on Language). Available at http://ucrel.lancs.ac.uk/usas/ (accessed 23 November 2014). 3 See‘Introduction to the USAS category system’ at http://ucrel.lancs.ac.uk/usas/usas%20guide.pdf (accessed 23 November 2014).

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indicate positive or negative position on a semantic scale. E4 has fi ner subdivisions, E4.1 and E4.2.

E1 General: EMBARRASSED, EMOTION, HYSTERICAL E2 Liking: ABHOR (-), ADORE (+), AFFECTIONS (+) E3 Calm/Violent/Angry: AGITATE (-), APPEASE (+), INFURIATED (-) E4 Happy/Sad E4.1 Happy/Sad: Happy: BLISS (+), CHEERFUL (+), DESPAIR (-) E4.2 Happy/Sad: Contentment: CONTENT(+), DISAPPOINTED(-) E5 Fear/Bravery/Shock: ASTONISH (-), BRAVE (+), DREAD (-) E6 Worry/Concern/Confi dent: ANXIOUS (-), CAREFUL (-), CONFIDENTLY (+)

And these are the subdivisions of X: psychological actions, states and processes. Some of them have fi ner subdivisions, but only X2.1 is shown below.‘To feel’ or‘Feeling’ are categorized into X2.1.

X1 General X2 Mental actions and processes X2.1 feel, feeling X3 Sensory X4 Mental object X5 Attention X6 Deciding X7 Wanting; planning; choosing X8 Trying X9 Ability

3. 2 Snow Country Sera (2014) examined depictions of emotions in Snow Country (Kawabata, 1957), which is an English translation of Yukiguni, a masterpiece by Yasunari Kawabata, the first Japanese Nobel Prize winner in Literature. Yukiguni is a story of a hot-spring geisha and a middle-aged man, who is married and lives in Tokyo and occasionally visits‘Snow Country’. Table 2 shows which items in the E category are statistically significant in Snow

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Country, when the work is compared against one of the normative corpora on the dropdown list of Wmatrix, the BNC Sampler Written corpus.4 The LL (log-likelihood) statistic is employed by Wmatrix. To be statistically signifi cant you should look at items with a LL value over about 7, since 6.63 is the cut-off for 99% confi dence of signifi cance. Plus or minus in the seventh column indicates that an item is overused or underused compared with the normative corpus.5 Statistical signifi cance shown by Wmatrix coincides with interpretative signifi cance. In Snow Country,‘Sad’ is most signifi cantly overused compared with the BNC Sampler Written corpus. Its heroine, a hot-spring geisha, sometimes clearly expresses her emotion, sadness.

Table 2 Snow Country and BNC Sampler Written Snow Country BNC Sampler Written USAS category +/－ LL Frequency % Frequency % E4.1－ Sad 73 0.20 979 0.10 + 27.90 E4.1+ Happy 90 0.25 1370 0.14 + 24.10 Emotional Actions, E1 States And Processes 32 0.09 373 0.04 + 16.80 General E2++ Like 2 0.01 384 0.04 － 16.10 E3+ Calm 41 0.12 623 0.06 + 11.00

4 The following is detailed intormation about the normative corpora. BNC Sampler spoken: 982,712 words from BNC Sampler spoken corpus BNC Sampler written: 968,267 words from BNC Sampler written corpus BNC Sampler spoken CG: 480,759 words from BNC Sampler spoken context-governed corpus BNC Sampler spoken Demog: 501,953 words from BNC Sampler spoken demographic corpus BNC Sampler written Imag: 222,541 words from BNC Sampler written imaginative corpus BNC Sampler written Inform: 745,726 words from BNC Sampler written informative corpus BNC Sampler CG (Spoken) Business: 141,143 words from BNC Sampler Context Governed Business corpus (Company and trades union talks or interviews; business meetings; sales demonstrations etc) BNC Sampler CG (Spoken) Educational: 86,575 words from BNC Sampler Context Governed Educational and Informative corpus (Lectures, talks and educational demonstrations; news commentaries; classroom interaction etc) BNC Sampler CG (Spoken) Leisure: 144,925 words from BNC Sampler Context Governed Leisure corpus (Sports commentaries; broadcast chat shows and phone-ins; club meeting and speeches etc) BNC Sampler CG (Spoken) Institutional: 151,445 words from BNC Sampler Context Governed Institutional corpus (Political speeches; sermons; local and national governmental proceedings etc) British English 2006 (BE06): 929,862 words from published general written British English. It has the same sampling frame as the LOB and FLOB corpora. American English 2006 (AmE06): 966,609 words from published general written American English, also using the same sampling frame as the LOB and FLOB corpora. Available at http://ucrel.lancs.ac.uk/wmatrix3.html (accessed 23 November 2014). 5 See‘Key words, key POS and key domains: comparison of frequency list’ in‘Introduction to Wmatrix’. Available at http://ucrel.lancs.ac.uk/wmatrix/ (accessed 23 November 2014).

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3. 3 Most signifi cant semantic categories and interpretations Table 3 shows the results of semantic analysis from my previous studies.6 Regarding the E category, the most signifi cant item of‘The Signalman’ by Dickens is‘Worry’ ; ‘The Fall of the House of Usher’ by Poe,‘Fear/Shock’ and‘Violent/Angry’ ; 7 The Izu Dancer,‘Happy’ . The Izu Dancer was also written by Kawabata. A young college student is attracted by a very young dancing girl in a group of traveling entertainers. Although they fi nally part, the story is bittersweet, rather than sad or tragic. So these items correspond pretty much to my fi rst impressions of these stories.

Table 3 Most signifi cant semantic categories compared with BNC Sampler Written Work Key concept fi eld LL Signalman Worry +7.50 Usher Fear/Shock +23.00 Violent/Angry +21.56 The Izu Dancer Happy +21.13 Snow Country Sad +27.90

４． E category: emotion

4. 1 Calm Then what are the most statistically signifi cant items in the Emotional category in After Dark? When compared with the BNC Sampler Written,‘Calm’ and‘Unemotional’ are indicated as overused.

6 See Sera (2012) and Sera (2014). 7 In the comparison, the most signifi cant semantic domain in Usher was E1: Emotional Actions, States and Processes General, and its LL value was + 41.44. This subcategory contains words such as shudder(ed) 5, sentiment(s) 4, awe 2. It was excluded in Sera (2012) and Sera (2014) because of ambiguousness of its category name, but it ought to have been included in the list.

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Table 4 Comparison of Category E in After Dark and BNC Sampler Written After Dark BNC Sampler Written USAS category +/－ LL Frequency % Frequency % E3+ Calm 66 0.15 623 0.06 + 32.10 E4.1－ Sad 18 0.04 979 0.10 － 21.24 E2++ Like 3 0.01 384 0.04 － 18.64 E1－ Unemotional 7 0.02 24 0.00 + 12.58 E6+ Confi dent 24 0.05 245 0.03 + 9.78

The words which occur more than once in Category E3+ are in the list below.

Table 5 Words in Category E3+ Word Frequency % rest 15 0.03 gently 9 0.02 rests 7 0.02 softly 7 0.02 relax 4 0.01 calm 4 0.01 gentle 3 0.01 resting 2 0.00 harmless 2 0.00 peacefully 2 0.00

As‘rest’ includes an example like‘what I’m gonna do for the rest of my life’ (Murakami, 2008: 61), some instances of the word may irrelevant here. Therefore, the contexts in which‘gentle’ or‘gently’ appear are shown in Table 6 to illustrate how these words are used in the story. In most cases, they are used to depict movements surrounding young and alienated sisters, Eri and Mari.

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Table 6 ‘gentle’ and‘gently’ Page Context the Man with No Face. His shoulders rise and fall . . . like an empty boat bobbing on 52-53 gentle early-morning waves. 58 Mari . . . says, gently but fi rmly . . . 109 At one point a shoulder rises gently, and a small white hand appears . . . [Eri] 112 She seems to feel a gentle rocking. [Eri] 117 The kitten is eating with gusto. Mari gently strokes its back. 140 The taxi accelerates gently so as not to wake Shirakawa. 158 Korogi . . . gently shakes her head. 191 Takahashi keeps his gentle grip on her hand . . . 193 She reaches out and gently touches Eri’s forehead, quietly calling her name. [Mari] She gently presses her cheek against her sister’s chest and holds herself there, listening, 194 hoping to understand each beat of her sister’s heart. Her eyes are gently closed as she listens. [Mari] 200 The morning sun shining in the window gently envelops and warms her. （My emphasis）（Murakami, 2008）

4. 2 Unemotional 4. 2. 1 E1-: Unemotional and the Man with No Face Although the number of occurrences is small, only seven, the analysis shows that Category E1-: Unemotional, is also statistically signifi cant.

Table 7 Unemotional Word Frequency % expressionless 6 0.01 impassively 1 0.00

The contexts in which‘expressionless’ and‘impassively’ appear are shown in Table 8. Denny’s décor, and Mari’s face when she fi rst meets the young man Takahashi. The following two instances are about the man who comes to pick up the Chinese prostitute who was attacked by Shirakawa at the hotel. The last three occurrences are about Shirakawa, himself.

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Table 8‘expressionless’ and‘impassively’ Page Context We are inside a Denny’s. Unremarkable but adequate lighting; expressionless decor and 4 tableware . . . 24 A hint of his smile still remains as he says,“See ya.” Mari nods, expressionless. 46 The man stares hard at Kaoru . . . His speech is fl at, unaccented, expressionless. 47 The man stares at Kaoru with expressionless eyes. 80 His face remains expressionless . . . [Shirakawa] 135 He keeps the process going, however, impassively but carefully . . . [Shirakawa] 153 His face expressionless, Shirakawa follows the movements on the screen . . . （My emphasis）（Murakami, 2008）

And there is‘the Man with No Face’ who is in Eri Asai’s room. He is mentioned eight times and should be included in this category.

4. 2. 2 Hotel Alphaville Regarding‘Unemotional’ , the name of the hotel itself seems to be symbolic. Mari and the manager of the hotel, Kaoru, are talking about it. Alphaville is also the title of a movie. In this imaginary city, people are not allowed to have deep feelings. Kaoru doesn’t know the movie, but she seems to be amused to learn its meaning and says,‘maybe the perfect name for a love ho.’

Mari says,“You know, I’ve been wanting to ask you. Why do you call your hotel Alphaville?” “Hmm, I wonder. The boss probably named it. All love hos have these crazy names. I mean, they’re just for men and women to come and do their stuff . All you need is a bed and a bathtub. Nobody gives a damn about the name as long as it sounds like a love ho. Why do you ask?” “Alphaville is the title of one of my favourite movies. Jean-Luc Godard.” . . . . “Well, for example, if you cry in Alphaville, they arrest you and execute you in public.” “Why?” “‘Cause in Alphaville, you’re not allowed to have deep feelings. So there’s nothing like love. . . .”

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. . . . “But tell me: is there sex in this Alphaville place?” “Yes, there is sex in Alphaville.” “Sex that doesn’t need love or irony.” “Right.” Kaoru gives a hearty laugh.“So, come to think of it, Alphaville maybe the perfect name for a love ho.” (My emphasis) (Murakami, 2008: 59-60)

4. 2. 3 Category E in After Dark and Snow Country In relation to‘Unemotional’ , emotional expressions as a whole are underused in After Dark. This is clearly shown when it is compared with Snow Country concerning the E category. There are no statistically overused items in After Dark.

Table 9 Comparison of Category E in After Dark and Snow Country After Dark Snow Country USAS category +/－ LL Frequency % Frequency % E4.1－ Sad 18 0.04 73 0.20 － 50.21 E4.1+ Happy 47 0.10 90 0.25 － 26.07 E1 Emotional Actions, 15 0.03 32 0.09 － 11.07 States And Processes General E6+ Confi dent 24 0.05 8 0.02 + 4.98 E2+++ Like 4 0.01 0 0.00 + 4.64 E2－ Dislike 10 0.02 17 0.05 － 3.91 E1－ Unemotional 7 0.02 1 0.00 + 3.73 E6－ Worry 56 0.12 33 0.09 + 1.76 E3+ Calm 66 0.15 41 0.12 + 1.42 E4.1+++ Happy 1 0.00 0 0.00 + 1.16 E3 Calm/Violent/Angry 1 0.00 0 0.00 + 1.16 E4.2－ Discontent 5 0.01 2 0.01 + 0.71 E3－ Violent/Angry 56 0.12 51 0.14 － 0.58 E4.2+ Content 16 0.04 15 0.04 － 0.24 E2++ Like 3 0.01 2 0.01 + 0.03 E2+ Like 84 0.19 64 0.18 + 0.03

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4. 3 Smile 4. 3. 1 Tony Takitani Tony Takitani, one of Murakami’s short stories, is also devoid of emotions. Issey Ogata, an actor who played Tony Takitani in the movie based on the story of the same title, says the movie expresses so little emotion. However, he notices‘fl eeting moments of joy and sorrow’.

I respect the director for venturing to create Tony Takitani knowing that a movie with so little emotional expression would become a fi lm devoid of humanity. I can only tip my hat to him . . . for having made a“heartless” fi lm . . . . Though lasting emotions may not have been for this fi lm, as an actor I regret that I wasn’t able to fully convey the“fleeting moments of joy and sorrow.” For I believe that while there was no guarantee of lasting happiness between Tony and his wife, there were many moments in which they understood each other in a fl ash. (My underlines) (Ogata, 2008: 104-105) 4. 3. 2 Smile in After Dark Like the fl eeting moments of joy and sorrow in Tony Takitani, in After Dark, too, the word‘smile’ seems to play an important role to express characters’ emotions, although it is not statistically signifi cant. Takahashi, a typical Murakami protagonist, is a mild, gentle young man and smiles naturally. Mari, on the other hand, seems to shut herself in and is expressionless even Takahashi smiles at her. When she smiles, she‘manages an awkward smile’. But at the end of the story, when Mari goes home and slides into her sister’s bed, she smiles, after softly kissing her sister. When Mari falls sleep, the hint of a smile is seen on her lips. After she has been through a calm, unemotional night, her smile seems to symbolise a solution, a reunion with her alienated sister Eri. Table 10 shows the contexts in which‘smile （-d, -s）’ and‘smiling’ appear.

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Table 10 ‘Smile’ in After Dark Page Character Context Their eyes meet. The young man smiles. His smile is meant to show he 7 Takahashi means no harm. 10 Takahashi “Whoa!” he says with a smile. 14 Takahashi The young man smiles. 23 Takahashi “Everybody’s got their own battlefi elds,” he says with a smile. A hint of his smile still remains as he says,“See ya.” Mari nods, 24 Takahashi expressionless. 33 Kaoru . . . she gives Mari a lopsided smile . . . 33 waitress The waitress responds with a nervous smile and leaves. 37 Komugi Komugi produces a nice smile for Mari . . . 45 Mari Mari off ers the woman a little smile-her fi rst since midnight. 56 Mari Mari smiles.“I wish I could have done that . . .” 58 Mari Mari reddens but manages a slightly awkward smile. His face remains expressionless, neither breaking into a smile of 80 Shirakawa satisfaction nor frowning . . . 92 Takahashi Takahashi smiles. He holds the smile while inserting a pause. 105 Mari Mari asks in mock horror, smiling. 105 Mari Takahashi looks at her and says,“That’ s the fi rst time you’ve smiled all night.” 138 Shirakawa Shirakawa says with a sour smile. 146 Takahashi Takahashi smiles. 148 Takahashi Takahashi smiles and looks at Mari. . . . she used to be the one showing the prizes to the camera on a quiz 163 Eri show, holding them up with a big smile. 166 Korogi Korogi smiles without speaking. 186 Takahashi Takahashi smiles and looks at Mari. 195 Mari She smiles. 200 Mari Or is the hint of a smile on her lips the trace of a memory? （My emphasis）（Murakami, 2008）

５． X: Psychological actions, states and processes Category X: Psychological actions, states and processes is closely related to emotion, as emotion can be thought of as a part of psychological states. When compared against the BNC Sampler Written Imaginative corpus8 , which is composed of drama, poetry and prose fi ction, X2: Mental actions and processes is statistically most signifi cant in After Dark, followed by X4.1 Mental object: Conceptual object.

8 Instead of BNC Sampler Written corpus, BNC Sampler Written Imaginative corpus is used as a normative corpus here on, as the comparisons with the latter produce more interesting and revealing results. It is not surprising the results of comparison with these two diff erent corpora are not the same, although they are sometimes very similar. In this study, I conduct comparisons with both corpora and use the results which lead to more interesting fi ndings. Further study is necessary to consider why and how these diff erences are created. (See footnote 4.)

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Table 11 Comparison of Category X in After Dark and BNC Sampler Written Imaginative After Dark BNC Sampler Written Imaginative USAS category Frequency % Frequency % +/－ LL Mental actions and X2 processes 35 0.08 22 0.01 + 56.50 Mental object: X4.1 Conceptual object 101 0.22 315 0.14 + 14.52 X3.2－ Sound: Quiet 74 0.16 213 0.10 + 14.29 X9.2－ Failure 29 0.06 58 0.03 + 13.80 X7－ Unwanted 25 0.06 48 0.02 + 12.80 X3.3 Sensory: Touch 24 0.05 56 0.03 + 8.30 X5.1+ Attentive 28 0.06 70 0.03 + 8.19

X2 and X4.1 categories contain words as shown in Tables 12 and 13.‘Memory’ and ‘dream’ seem to be worth noting.

Table 12 X2: Mental actions and processes Table 13 X4.1: Mental object: Conceptual in After Dark object in After Dark Word Frequency % Word Frequency % memories 3 0.03 thought 12 0.03 memory 11 0.02 point_of_view9 12 0.03 intellectual 5 0.01 idea 11 0.02 dreaming 2 0.00 thoughts 8 0.02 matter 7 0.02 vision 6 0.01 subject 6 0.01 dream 6 0.01 view 5 0.01 dreams 4 0.01 hypothetically 4 0.01 subject_matter 3 0.01 conceptual 3 0.01

As already seen in Section 2.5, Richard Powers explains Murakami’s international success by introducing mirroring neurons. Quoting Murakami’s own words in an interview, he points to‘communal dreams’ which are‘like Jungian collective unconsciousness’ (Powers, 2008: 41):

9 Not only words, but also multi-word units are contained in the USAS lexicon. See http://ucrel.lancs.ac.uk/ usas/usas%20guide.pdf (accessed 23 November 2014).

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Now keep this looping, mirroring, collaborative model of the mind in your prefrontal cortex as Murakami describes how he conceives of the dream landscapes that fi lls his novels:

We have rooms in ourselves. Most of them we have not visited yet. . . . From time to time we can fi nd the passage . . . We fi nd strange things . . . old phonographs, pictures, books. . . . They belong to us, but it is the fi rst time we have found them. . . . I think dreams are collective. Some parts do not belong to yourself . . . [Thompson, Matt,“The Elusive Murakami” The Guardian (UK), May 26, 2001] (Powers, 2008: 41)

Memory, too, is an important element when thinking about‘mirror neurons’ and interpreting Murakami’s works. Quoting the schoolteacher’s words from Kafka on the Shore, Powers suggests we human beings share a prototypical memory.

We can never know the world, but in our shared bewilderment, we can know each other. As the schoolteacher writes in Kafka on the Shore:“As individuals each of us is extremely isolated, while at the same time we are all linked by a prototypical memory”. . . . (Powers, 2008: 54 )

Although it is not with After Dark, but with Wind-up Bird Chronicle, Strecher (2002) also brings up‘memories’ to explain two elements of identity in Murakami’s work.

Identity for Murakami is always a combination of two primary elements: the conscious self-the person we know as ourselves in daily life; and the unconscious“other,” a mysterious alter ego who dwells in the depths of our unconscious. These two sides of our identity ideally share the task of identity formation, but perform different roles. The conscious self, as might be expected, encounters new situations and acts upon them, providing experiences to be processed by the unconscious“other,” the inner self, or“other,” then processes these experiences into memories, simultaneously creating links between the various other memories that are stored in the unconscious. (My underlines) (Strecher, 2002: 42)

In his work on literary reading and emotion, Burke (2011) also stresses the important

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roles‘mirror neurons’ could play in understanding literary language processing.

In light of the above work conducted by a range of neuroscientists it can be posited that mirror neurons can indeed be a fruitful phenomenon for studying literary language processing. . . . (Burke, 2011: 39)

In his discussion on the neurology of emotion, quoting various psychologists and neuroscientists, Burke(2011) repeatedly points out the importance of memories in literary reading. For example he quotes Hogan(2003):

However, Hogan makes the modified claim as well“that relevant memories are continually primed in our experience of literature”, adding that“the suggestions of literary works keep the emotion-laden memories primed for long stretches of time . . . .” (Burke, 2011: 47-48)

Burke (2011: 54) also introduces‘a hydraulic metaphor’ for the brain’s information processing in Kosslyn and Koening (1995).

Imagine an above ground swimming pool with a hole in the wall just at water level; if the water laps against the sides, a series of pulses of water slosh through the hole. This sequence of sloshes is the output. Also imagine rocks, of different sizes and shapes, dropping into the pool and causing patterns of waves to spread. The rocks correspond to the input from the senses, and piles of rocks on the bottom correspond to memories; it is clear that the precise pattern of ripples will change as the rocks begin to alter the topography of the bottom. . . . (1995: 448)

Although Burke (2011) is concerned about the overall understanding of literary reading, and not individual works of literature,‘memory’ appears to be a significant factor in understanding After Dark, as it is indicated as signifi cant in the semantic analyses carried out in this section. As seen so far, researchers on Murakami’s works, the literary reading process and the brain’s information processing consider‘memory’ and‘dream’ important elements in their research fi elds. It seems interesting and meaningful that the result presented

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through Wmatrix semantic analyses also points to the importance of‘memory’ and ‘dream’ in After Dark.

６．Other semantic categories

Other statistically signifi cant categories in After Dark are shown in Table 14. As this story is chiefl y about characters and their relationships, it seems natural Category B1: Anatomy and physiology is the most signifi cant concept.

Table 14 After Dark and BNC Sampler Written Imaginative: the whole categories

After Dark BNC Sampler Written USAS category Imaginative +/－ LL Frequency % Frequency % B1 Anatomy and physiology 980 2.16 3057 1.37 + 140.77 O2 Objects generally 415 0.92 1045 0.47 + 119.08 Z2 Geographical names 457 1.01 1233 0.55 + 108.21 N3.7+ Long, tall and wide 117 0.26 164 0.07 + 94.90 N5－－－ Quantities: little 33 0.07 9 0.00 + 76.96 Furniture and household H5 fi ttings 213 0.47 525 0.24 + 64.57 M6 Location and direction 760 1.68 2685 1.21 + 60.28 S5－ Not part of a group 68 0.15 90 0.04 + 59.04 Generally kinds, groups, A4.1 examples 187 0.41 455 0.20 + 58.55 Mental actions and X2 processes 35 0.08 22 0.01 + 56.50 The Media: TV, Radio Q4.3 and Cinema 66 0.15 89 0.04 + 56.07 Substances and materials O1 generally 49 0.11 54 0.02 + 51.59 General appearance O4.1 and physical properties 141 0.31 322 0.14 + 51.23 Clothes and personal B5 belongings 328 0.72 1002 0.45 + 51.15 Q1.3 Telecommunications 79 0.17 138 0.06 + 47.30 O4.4 Shape 153 0.34 388 0.17 + 43.09

As shown in 2.1, Yomota attributes Murakami’s global acceptance to cultural scentlessness of his works. In Table 14, words grouped under categories H5: Furniture and household fitting and B5: Clothes and personal belongings could be culturally

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infl uenced or even determined. Tables 15 and 16 show the examples of words in H5 and B5. No paper sliding doors, no kimonos are seen here. They are all transcultural stage props, which can be commonly seen everywhere around the globe.

Table 15 H5: Furniture and household fi ttings Table 16 B5: Clothes and personal belongings in After Dark in After Dark Word Frequency % Word Frequency % bed 55 0.12 bag 26 0.06 desk 29 0.06 pocket 21 0.05 chair 23 0.05 jacket 17 0.04 table 21 0.05 wears 15 0.03 seat 12 0.03 coat 11 0.02 pillow 9 0.02 wearing 10 0.02 shelf 8 0.02 button 9 0.02 quilt 6 0.01 helmet 8 0.02 bench 5 0.01 shirt 8 0.02 closet 3 0.01 hat 7 0.02 counter 3 0.01 tie 7 0.02 mat 3 0.01 sweater 6 0.01 drawers 3 0.01 shoes 6 0.01 glove 6 0.01 suit 6 0.01

７．Conclusion

Near the end of the story, Mari fi nally goes back home and gets into the bed where her sister Eri is sleeping. The words grouped in the semantic category E3+: Calm, such as‘peacefully’ ,‘gently’ and‘softly’ appear here. And‘dreaming’ and‘memory’ in the categories of X2: Mental actions and processes and X4.1: Mental object: Conceptual object are also seen. And no words in the category of E1-: Unemotional are found in this fi nal stage of the story. She is suddenly struck with emotion and sheds tears. It seems that cold, unemotional states are melted with warm, lively tears.

Soon, without warning, tears begin to ooze from her closed eyes-large tears, and totally natural. . . . The emotion has struck with great suddenness, and with no tangible connection to what has come before, but it is overwhelming. . . . Each new falling tear is warm, like blood, with the heat from inside her body. (My emphasis)

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(Murakami, 2008: 194)

After tears, readers fi nally see Mari’s‘smile’ , although it is just a hint in one occasion. Two sisters have been alienated from each other. Mari’s older sister Eri is very beautiful and their parents have always compared them. People have been telling Mari she is ugly from the time she is little (Murakami, 2008: 118). Now readers see a sign of their reunion, which seems to be shown symbolically by‘the hint of a smile’.

As far as we can see, her sleep is peaceful. She seems to have warmed up: her cheeks have more colour than before. Her fringe covers her eyes. Could she be dreaming? Or is the hint of a smile on her lips the trace of a memory? Mari has made her way through the long hours of darkness, traded many words with the night people she encountered there, and come back to where she belongs. (My emphasis) (Murakami, 2008: 200)

Through semantic analyses, the present study shows that most significant emotions in After Dark are‘Calm’ and‘Unemotional’ . Also in the semantic category of X: Psychological actions, states and processes,‘dream’ and‘memory’ are signifi cant. As for other categories such as H5: Furniture and household fi tting and B5: Clothes and personal belongings, they are also statistically signifi cant. Most items included in these categories are not culturally specifi c. These results seem to be closely related to the comments by translators and researchers of Murakami literature. Many of them suggest the transcultural nature of his works as one explanation for his international success. Readers across borders can easily sympathise with Murakami’s characters. The idea of‘mirror neurons’ in our brains might be one key to an empathetic door. Readers may fi nd in Murakami’s stories not individual but collective dreams and memories. The story of After Dark starts at midnight and ends at daybreak. Characters move around not in a dream, but calm night scenes are just like landscapes in a dream world. And in Murakami’s world, the real world and another world are often inseparable. Translators also point out that in many countries, readers fi nd a‘solution’ to their own problems by reading Murakami’s works. At the beginning of the story, one of the protagonists Mari is alienated from her sister and her family. But‘Mari has made her

88 人文論集 第 50 巻 Depictions of Emotions in Haruki Murakami’s After Dark: A Semantic Analysis way through the long hours of darkness, traded many words with the night people she encountered there, and come back to where she belongs’(Murakami, 2008: 200). In After Dark,‘smile’ seems to be a promise of solution to young alienated sisters. Many readers would be relieved when Mari naturally smiles at last, and they might feel that they fi nd a clue to a solution to their own problems.

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Strecher, M. (2002) Haruki Murakami’s The Wind-up Bird Chronicle: A Reader’s Guide. New York/London: Contiuum. The Japan Foundation (comp. and trans.) (2008) A Wild Haruki Chase: Reading Murakami Around the World. Berkeley, Calif.: Stone Bridge Press. Yomota, I. (2008)‘How to view the“Haruki boom”’, in The Japan Foundation (comp. and trans.) A Wild Haruki Chase: Reading Murakami Around the World. Berkeley, Calif.: Stone Bridge Press, 33-37.

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