q&a with murakami is most peculiar, you're witness to a kind of bemused miscommunication, with reticence and gentle puzzlement on one side and thwarted expectation on the other. it is at once frustrating and also amusing to have your critical nose rubbed in dirt. ask that same question to an american writer and he would go on about it seems to me he does not conceive an artistic personality for himself, and is very good at resisting the critics' attempts to coax or force out of him some statement of unified artistic vision or credo.

his preamble about the two kinds of question he won't answer though was terribly amusing: it seems that at the end of one of his early american (was the impression i got) lectures, a man got up and said: what do you think about japan's emperor system? he was completely taken aback. "i didn't mention emperors in my talk." he managed to get through the question somehow, and afterwards got hold of one of the organisers: "who was that man who asked me about japan's emperor system?" he was told oh nono, not to worry, that guy always shows up and asks that question whenever we have a japanese writer come in, just ignore him. "but it bothers me. i could have prepared! (audience laughter) i hope he is not here today. so that's what i call the emperor question.

the other kind of question he doesn't like is what he calls the "squid question." (some confusion in audience, as it came out sounding like 'squeet' but the following explication made clear meaning) "someone asked me: mr murakami, a squid has ten legs. do you think they are feet or hands. i said, give him ten gloves and ten socks and let him choose. that is what i call a "squid question" maybe there's an answer, but why me?"