Chikako Nihei is an assistant professor at Yamaguchi University. She received her PhD in Japanese at the University of Sydney. Her publications include "The Productivity of a Space In-between: Murakami Haruki as a Translator" (2016) and "Resistance and Negotiation: The ‘Herbivorous Men’ and Murakami Haruki’s Gender and Political Ambiguity" (2013).

• Acknowledgements 1 Introduction2 Distancing Japanese literary tradition: Monogatari and language3 "Departure" from the distrust of language: Narration as engagement4 Narrativising memories: Murakami’s attempt at a realist novel in Norwegian Wood5 Distance within, will to imagine, and power of metaphor in Kafka on the Shore6 Writing in the space in-between: Murakami’s exploration of cross-cultural effects7 Conclusion: Monogatari as an antibody, 1Q84 and stories after "Fukushima"Index

"This is an important contribution to our understanding of the key concept of the monogatari in the Murakami literary world." -- Matthew C. Strecher, Sophia University