Growing up in Kobe before moving to Tokyo to attend Waseda University, he published his first novel "Hear the Wind Sing" (1979) after working as the owner of a small jazz bar for seven years. His notable works include the novels "Norwegian Wood" (1987), "The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle" (1994–95), "Kafka on the Shore" (2002), and "1Q84" (2009–10), with "1Q84" ranked as the best work of Japan's Heisei era (1989-2019) by the national newspaper Asahi Shimbun's survey of literary experts. His work spans genres including science fiction, fantasy, and crime fiction, and has become known for its use of magical realist elements. His official website lists Raymond Chandler, Kurt Vonnegut, and Richard Brautigan as key inspirations to his work, while Murakami himself has cited Kazuo Ishiguro, Cormac McCarthy, and Dag Solstad as his favourite currently active writers. Murakami has also published five short story collections, including his most recently published work, "First Person Singular" (2020), and non-fiction works including "Underground" (1997), inspired by personal interviews Murakami conducted with victims of the Great Hanshin Earthquake and the Tokyo subway sarin attack, and "What I Talk About When I Talk About Running" (2007), a series of personal essays about his experience as a marathon runner.