50 Haruki Murakami Quotes From The Iconic Novelist

Haruki Murakami is a renowned Japanese author known for his unique blend of magical realism, intricate plots, and deep introspective explorations of his characters. In this collection, we bring you some of the most memorable Haruki Murakami quotes that capture the essence of his storytelling.

Born on January 12, 1949, in Kyoto, Japan, he is considered one of the most important contemporary novelists and translators in the world.

Some of his most famous works include “Norwegian Wood“, “Kafka on the Shore“, “1Q84“, and “The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle“. Each of these novels offers readers a dive into surreal worlds combined with poignant emotional depths.

Apart from his literary pursuits, Murakami is an avid runner and has even written a memoir, “What I Talk About When I Talk About Running”, which discusses the symbiotic relationship between his writing and running.

Top 10 Haruki Murakami Quotes

1. “Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional.” — Haruki Murakami                        

   
2. “Taking crazy things seriously is a serious waste of time.” — Haruki Murakami
3. “If you remember me, then I don’t care if everyone else forgets.” — Haruki Murakami
4. “No matter how far you travel, you can never get away from yourself.” — Haruki Murakami 

   

5. “Whatever it is you’re seeking won’t come in the form you’re expecting.” — Haruki Murakami
6. “Spend your money on the things money can buy. Spend your time on the things money can’t buy.” — Haruki Murakami                                                                                                                                  

   

7. “If you only read the books that everyone else is reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinking.” — Haruki Murakami                                       

   

8. “The most important thing we learn at school is the fact that the most important things can’t be learned at school.” — Haruki Murakami
9. “But one thing is certain. When you come out of the storm, you won’t be the same person who walked in. That’s what this storm’s all about.” — Haruki Murakami                    

   

10. “As time goes on, you’ll understand. What lasts, lasts; what doesn’t, doesn’t. Time solves most things. And what time can’t solve, you have to solve yourself.” — Haruki Murakami

Famous Quotes By Haruki Murakami

1. “You can never put it back together like it was.” — Haruki Murakami
2. “What happens when people open their hearts? They get better.” — Norwegian Wood
3. “Memories warm you up from the inside. But they also tear you apart.” — Kafka on the Shore
4. “People leave strange little memories of themselves behind when they die.” — Norwegian Wood
5. “You can hide memories, but you can’t erase the history that produced them.” — Haruki Murakami
6. “People are drawn deeper into tragedy not by their defects but by their virtues.” — Kafka on the Shore
7. “Despite your best efforts, people are going to be hurt when it’s time for them to be hurt.” — Haruki Murakami, Norwegian Wood
8. “Things outside you are projections of what’s inside … what’s inside … is a projection of what’s outside.” — Haruki Murakami
9. “But who can say what’s best? That’s why you need to grab whatever chance you have of happiness where you find it, and not worry about other people too much.” — Haruki Murakami
10. “I sometimes think that people’s hearts are like deep wells. Nobody knows what’s at the bottom. All you can do is imagine by what comes floating to the surface every once in a while.”—  Haruki Murakami

Haruki Murakami Quotes On Life

1. “Death is not the opposite of life, but a part of it.” — Haruki Murakami
2. “Listen up – there’s no war that will end all wars.” — Haruki Murakami
3. “What we seek is some kind of compensation for what we put up with.” — Haruki Murakami
4. “Life is not like water. Things in life don’t necessarily flow over the shortest possible route.” — Haruki Murakami
5. “No matter how much suffering you went through, you never wanted to let go of those memories.” — Haruki Murakami
6. “As we go through life, we gradually discover who we are, but the more we discover, the more we lose  ourselves.” — Haruki Murakami
7. “Nobody likes being alone that much. I don’t go out of my way to make friends, that’s all. It just leads to disappointment.” — Haruki Murakami
8. “If you can love someone with your whole heart, even one person, then there’s salvation in life. Even if you can’t get together with that person.” — Haruki Murakami, 1Q84
9. “People die all the time. Life is a lot more fragile than we think. So you should treat others in a way that leaves no regrets. Fairly, and if possible, sincerely.” — Haruki Murakami
10. “Even chance meetings are the result of karma… Thing”s in life are fated by our previous lives. That even in the smallest events there’s no such thing as coincidence.” — Haruki Murakami

Best Haruki Murakami Quotes

1. “Don’t feel sorry for yourself. Only do that.” — Haruki Murakami
2. “Silence, I discover, is something you can actually hear.” — Haruki Murakami
3. “I dream. Sometimes I think that’s the only right thing to do.” — Haruki Murakami
4. “It’s like Tolstoy said. Happiness is an allegory, unhappiness a story.” — Haruki Murakami
5. “Whenever I look at the ocean, I always want to talk to people, but when I’m talking to people, I always want to look at the ocean.” — Haruki Murakami
6. “I was always hungry for love. Just once, I wanted to know what it was like to get my fill of it—to be fed so much love I couldn’t take any more. Just once.” — Haruki Murakami
7. “In this world, there are things you can only do alone, and things you can only do with somebody else. It’s important to combine the two in just the right amount.” — Haruki Murakami
8. “Look at the rain long enough, with no thoughts in your head, and you gradually feel your body falling loose, shaking free of the world of reality. Rain has the power to hypnotize.” — Haruki Murakami
9. “I think that my job is to observe people and the world, and not to judge them. I always hope to position myself away from so-called conclusions. I would like to leave everything wide open to all the possibilities in the world.” — Haruki Murakami
10. “Why do people have to be this lonely? What’s the point of it all? Millions of people in this world, all of them yearning, looking to others to satisfy them, yet isolating themselves. Why? Was the earth put here just to nourish human loneliness?” — Haruki Murakami

Inspirational Haruki Murakami Quotes

1. “I can bear any pain as long as it has meaning.” — Haruki Murakami, 1Q84
2. “If you remember me, then I don’t care if everyone else forgets.” — Haruki Murakami
3. “Most everything you think you know about me is nothing more than memories.” — Haruki Murakami
4. “Remove everything pointless from an imperfect life and it’d lose even its imperfection.” — Haruki Murakami
5. “A certain type of perfection can only be realized through a limitless accumulation of the imperfect.” — Haruki Murakami
6. “No matter what they wish for, no matter how far they go, people can never be anything but themselves.” — Haruki Murakami
7. “A person learns how to love himself through the simple acts of loving and being loved by someone else.” — Haruki Murakami
8. “ want you always to remember me. Will you remember that I existed, and that I stood next to you here like this?” — Haruki Murakami
9. “What I think is this: You should give up looking for lost cats and start searching for the other half of your shadow.” — Haruki Murakami
10. “When I’m running I don’t have to talk to anybody and don’t have to listen to anybody. This is a part of my day I can’t do without.” — Haruki Murakami

These quotes provide a glimpse into Murakami’s worldview, reflecting the themes of loneliness, love, reality, dreams, and existential musings that permeate his works.