Haruki Murakami, Uniqlo team up for T-shirt line saluting Japan’s most celebrated modern author

1Q84, jazz, and cats are all part of the collection.

Haruki Murakami’s continuing lack of a Nobel Prize for Literature is an ongoing sore spot for his global fanbase, but the author himself doesn’t seem too upset over it. Having the literary clout to write only what and when you feel like it, and with finances so secure that there’s no pressure to deviate from that self-determined output flow, is pretty much every professional writer’s dream come true, after all.

And even if a Nobel Prize eludes Murakami, he can now boast something no other recipient of the award can: his own line of Uniqlo T-shirts.

The Japanese clothing chain has just unveiled its Haruki Murakami x UT collection, featuring eight men’s T-shirt designs inspired by Murakami’s works, aesthetic sensibilities, and philosophical musings, such as the Murakami Radio design that proclaims “Books, music, and cats have been my friends from way back” across its back.

And of course, jazz is what Murakami is talking about when he talks about music, as demonstrated by the back of this one.

Moving on to specific book references, the Kafka on the Shore design features a perched crow in silhouette on both the front and back, with the front’s overlaid with lines from the novel.

▼ “You will be the toughest 15-year-old boy on the planet” reads the beige text.

1Q84 is represented with the advice “Don’t let appearances fool you” rendered in backwards text, a fitting motif for a novel which plays with the concepts of alternate realities.

▼ The book’s title and author’s name appear written across the back of the shirt.

Rounding out the lineup are shirts featuring the cover artwork of Pinball, 1973, which reminds us “Just about anything looks better from a distance”…

…Sputnik Sweetheart, which has the spacecraft on its back along with the proclamation “Understanding is but the sum of our misunderstandings”…

…and Dance Dance Dance, with dancers on both the back and front pocket, plus the quote: “If you listen carefully, you can hear these things. If you look carefully, you’ll see what you’re after.”

Finally, the Norwegian Wood shirt replicates the font and color scheme of the artwork-less cover of its second book, and is the only shirt in the collection to feature no graphics or text on the back.

In addition, there’s also a ninth design that’s not being offered for regular purchase, but instead as a potential prize for 120 customers who buy one of the Murakami shirts, and salutes Murakami’s debut novel, Hear the Wind Sing.

The lineup goes on sale March 8, with each shirt priced at 1,500 yen (US$14.50) and available here through the Uniqlo online store.

Source: Uniqlo
Top image: Uniqlo
Insert images: Uniqlo (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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