Crossing Seas for Exchange with Waseda University: Dr. Chiu-Kuei Tseng Visits Haruki Murakami
2024/04/08
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On March 15, Dr. Chiu-Kuei Tseng, Director of the Center for Murakamiharuki Studies in Tamkang University (CMSTKU), was invited for the second time to speak at the Haruki Murakami Library at Waseda University in Japan. During the visit, she met with Haruki Murakami and informed him about the upcoming academic events related to Murakami at both the Haruki Murakami Library at Waseda University and in Kyoto.
Dr. Tseng expressed that Haruki Murakami is always updated about the activities of CMSTKU, and he is delighted with the active research and promotion of his literary works in Taiwan. Dr. Tseng informed Murakami about the recent collaborations between Tamkang University and Waseda University, including the "13th International Academic Conference on Haruki Murakami, 2024" co-hosted with Murakami's alma mater, Waseda University, at the Haruki Murakami Library on July 13 to 14, 2024, and the preparations for the "14th Haruki Murakami Conference, 2025" to be held in Kyoto, Murakami's birthplace, in 2025.
Dr. Tseng's lecture topic was "Literary Creation of Two National Writers, Yasunari Kawabata and Haruki Murakami: “A Comparative Analysis of the Theme of Time and Space in the Works ‘Immortality’ from Palm of the Hand Stories, and the City and Its Uncertain Wall,” dissecting how Murakami's new work compare with those of Kawabata. This attracted many renowned scholars to come and listen, engaging in in-depth exchanges. Particularly, she received high praise for her insightful new perspective from Tetsuya Terashima, the chief editor of Shinchosha which has obtained the right to publish Murakami’s latest work. Terashima commended Tseng's keen insight, noting that it shed light on aspects of Murakami's works that he, as someone who has read every one of Murakami's works, had not previously noticed.
Dr. Tseng utilized her sabbatical leave to serve as a visiting scholar at Kyoto University in Japan from mid-January to mid-March, engaging in academic exchanges. During this period, she was invited as a distinguished guest to attend the Haruki Murakami Reading Session hosted by Waseda University's Haruki Murakami Library on March 1, where she had the opportunity to listen to Murakami himself reading unpublished short stories up close. She also took this opportunity to visit Haruki Murakami, exchanging gifts and enjoying fruitful discussions.
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