Quotes by Haruki Murakami

About Haruki Murakami:

Haruki Murakami is a contemporary Japanese writer. His books and stories have been bestsellers in Japan as well as internationally, with his work being translated into 50 languages and selling millions of copies outside his native country.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Nobody's going to win all the time. On the highway of life you can't always be in the fast lane.

Haruki Murakami

So the fact that I’m me and no one else is one of my greatest assets. Emotional hurt is the price a person has to pay in order to be independent.

Haruki Murakami

There are three reasons I failed. Not enough training. Not enough training. And not enough training.

Haruki Murakami

One by one, I'll face the tasks before me and complete them as best I can. Focusing on each stride forward, but at the same time taking a long-range view, scanning the scenery as far ahead as I can. I am, after all, a long distance runner. My time, t...

Haruki Murakami

Forgive me for stating the obvious, but the world is made up of all kinds of people. Other people have their own value to live by, and the same holds true with me.

Haruki Murakami

Los pensamientos que acuden a mi mente cuando corro se parecen a las nubes del cielo. Nubes de diversas formas y tamaños. Nubes que vienen y se van. Pero el cielo siempre es el cielo. Las nubes son sólo meras invitadas. Algo que pasa de largo y se ...

Haruki Murakami

Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional.

Haruki Murakami

I'm often asked what I think about as I run. Usually the people who ask this have never run long distances themselves. I always ponder the question. What exactly do I think about when I'm running? I don't have a clue.

Haruki Murakami

La vida es esencialmente injusta. De eso no cabe la menor duda. Pero creo que incluso de las situaciones injustas es posible extraer lo que de "justicia" haya en ellas. Puede que ello cueste tiempo y esfuerzo. Y puede que ese tiempo y esfuerzo sean e...

Haruki Murakami

It might be a little silly for someone getting to be my age to put this into words, but I just want to make sure I get the facts down clearly : I'm the kind of person who likes to be by himself. To put a finer point on it, I'm the type of person who ...

Haruki Murakami

I'll be happy if running and I can grow old together.

Haruki Murakami

I don't think most people would like my personality. There might be a few -- very few, I would imagine- who are impressed by it, but rarely would anyone like it.

Haruki Murakami

People sometimes sneer at those who run every day, claiming they'll go to any length to live longer. But don't think that's the reason most people run. Most runners run not because they want to live longer, but because they want to live life to the f...

Haruki Murakami

All I do is keep on running in my own cozy, homemade void, my own nostalgic silence. And this is a pretty wonderful thing. No matter what anybody else says.

Haruki Murakami

For me, running is both exercise and a metaphor. Running day after day, piling up the races, bit by bit I raise the bar, and by clearing each level I elevate myself. At least that’s why I’ve put in the effort day after day: to raise my own level....

Haruki Murakami

Even when I ran my bar I followed the same policy. A lot of customers came to the bar. If one in ten enjoyed the place and said he'd come again, that was enough. If one out of ten was a repeat customer, then the business would survive. To put it anot...

Haruki Murakami

Of course it was painful, and there were times when, emotionally, I just wanted to chuck it all. But pain seems to be a precondition for this kind of sport. If pain weren't involved, who in the world would ever go to the trouble of taking part in spo...

Haruki Murakami

The thoughts that occur to me while I’m running are like clouds in the sky. Clouds of all different sizes. They come and they go, while the sky remains the same sky always. The clouds are mere guests in the sky that pass away and vanish, leaving be...

Haruki Murakami

Their hearts, lost in thought, slowly tick away time. When we pass each other on the road, we listen to the rhythm of each other's breathing, and sense the way the other person is ticking away the moments.

Haruki Murakami

I just run. I run in void. Or maybe I should put it the other way: I run in order to acquire a void.

Haruki Murakami

As I run I tell myself to think of a river. And clouds. But essentially I'm not thinking of a thing. All I do is keep on running in my own cozy, homemade void, my own nostalgic silence. And this is a pretty wonderful thing. No matter what anybody els...

Haruki Murakami

Author Bio

  • NameHaruki Murakami
  • DescriptionJapanese author, novelist
  • AliasesMurakami Haruki
  • BornJanuary 12, 1949
  • CountryJapan
  • ProfessionLinguist; Novelist; Writer; Translator; Essayist
  • WorksA Wild Sheep Chase; Norwegian Wood; The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle; Kafka On The Shore; 1Q84
  • AwardsFranz Kafka Prize; Yomiuri Prize; Tanizaki Prize; Jerusalem Prize; Noma Literary Prize; World Fantasy Award For Best Novel; Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award