Haruki Murakami (Japanese: 村上春樹; born January 12, 1949) is a Japanese writer whose works have achieved success, topping bestseller lists both domestically and internationally, and have been translated into more than 50 languages. Murakami has also received several international literary awards, including the World Fantasy Award (2006), the Frank O’Connor International Short Story Award (2006), the Franz Kafka Prize (2006), the Jerusalem Prize (2009), and the Sheikh Zayed Book Award (2025).

His most notable works include A Wild Sheep Chase (1982), Norwegian Wood (1987), Kafka on the Shore (2002), and Ichikyo Hachiyun (2009–2010). Murakami’s influence by Western writers such as Raymond Chandler and Kurt Vonnegut is clearly evident, which has led some Japanese literary institutions to criticize some of his works for their distance from the Japanese literary tradition. Murakami’s works are often characterized by surrealism, melancholy, and fatalism, and most of his novels deal with themes of social alienation, loneliness, and dreams. Murakami is considered one of the most important figures in postmodern literature. The Guardian has described him as “one of the greatest novelists working today” due to his work and achievements.