Haruki Murakami First Editions

• A Wild Sheep Chase — 1989 · Kodansha InternationalEnglish true first is the Kodansha International 1989 hardcover, translated by Alfred Birnbaum (ISBN-10 0-87011-905-2 / ISBN-13 978-0-87011-905-7), in purple paper-covered boards with quarter green cloth and silver spine lettering, in the blue dust jacket with the ram design by Shigeo Okamoto (price present at the flap). It is the first Murakami novel published in English for the trade and the earliest…. The Kodansha International edition of 1989 (New York/Tokyo) is the true first edition in English; the UK edition (Hamish Hamilton, London) followed in 1990. The Japanese original, Hitsuji o meguru boken, was published in 1982. It is the third novel of the 'Trilogy of the Rat' but the first to be translated into English for the trade. Plume and Vintage International paperbacks, and later reissues, are reprints. Confirm the Kodansha quarter-green-cloth binding over purple boards, the Shigeo Okamoto ram-design jacket, the 1989 date, and the ISBN-10 0-87011-905-2 (ISBN-13 978-0-87011-905-7).
• Norwegian Wood (Noruwei no Mori) — 1989 · Kodansha InternationalThe first appearance in English is the Kodansha English Library pocket edition translated by Alfred Birnbaum, 1989, a Japan-only edition produced for Japanese students of English. It preserves the two-volume division of the original, with a red first volume and a green second volume in small softcover format, and includes an appendix of Japanese text for key English phrases. The canonical trade first edition is…. The true first English appearance is the 1989 Kodansha English Library Birnbaum pocket set (scarce, sold only in Japan). The Rubin translation, Harvill UK 2000, is the canonical trade first edition (first thus). The Japanese original was published in 1987. The Vintage US 2000 edition and all later paperbacks are reprints or first-thus issues. Distinguish the Birnbaum 1989 two-volume pocket set (true first in English) from the standard Rubin translation that most readers know.
• Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World — 1991 · Kodansha InternationalFirst edition in English (copyright page stated 'First edition, 1991'; dealers also style it the 'First American edition'), translated by Alfred Birnbaum. Published by Kodansha International, New York (ISBN 4-7700-1544-5). The first printing is identified by the copyright-page statement 'First edition, 1991' followed by a printer's key counting down to 1 (10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1, preceded by the year codes 91 92…. The Kodansha International edition of 1991 (New York) is the first edition in English; the UK edition (Hamish Hamilton, London) followed, also in 1991. The Japanese original, Sekai no owari to hado-boirudo wandarando, was published in 1985 and won the Tanizaki Prize that year. It is Murakami's fourth novel and the second published in English for the trade (after A Wild Sheep Chase). Later Vintage International paperbacks are reprints. Confirm the 'First edition, 1991' statement with the full 10-to-1 number line, the quarter-black-cloth binding over magenta boards, and ISBN 4-7700-1544-5.
• The Elephant Vanishes — 1993 · Alfred A. KnopfFirst edition of the collection (first thus): the seventeen stories were selected and assembled in English by Murakami's Knopf editor Gary Fisketjon, so the collection as such exists first in this English-language form. Translated by Alfred Birnbaum and Jay Rubin. Borzoi colophon on the copyright page; first printing carries the full number line. Issued in a pictorial dust jacket. The Knopf US 1993 hardcover is the true first of this collection, which was compiled in English and has no single Japanese-language equivalent. The UK edition (Hamish Hamilton, 1993) was a paperback original with no UK hardback; The Harvill Press issued a later softcover. The original Japanese stories were published separately in Japan over the preceding years. The Vintage International paperback and the UK paperback printings are reprints of the collection.
• Dance Dance Dance — 1994 · Kodansha InternationalFirst edition in English, translated by Alfred Birnbaum. Published by Kodansha International, New York/Tokyo (ISBN-10 4-7700-1683-2 / ISBN-13 978-4-7700-1683-6), roughly 393 pages. First printing in black paper-covered boards over a black cloth spine stamped in yellow, with pink endpapers at the front and blue at the rear, and the dust-jacket illustration by Maki Sasaki (jacket design by Lorraine Louie); the true…. The Kodansha International edition of 1994 (New York/Tokyo) is the first edition in English; the UK edition (Hamish Hamilton, London) followed. The Japanese original, Dansu dansu dansu, was published in 1988. Vintage International paperbacks are reprints. Confirm the black Kodansha binding (yellow-stamped spine), the Maki Sasaki jacket, the 1994 date, and ISBN-10 4-7700-1683-2 (ISBN-13 978-4-7700-1683-6).
• The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle — 1997 · Alfred A. KnopfFirst English-language edition, translated by Jay Rubin. 'First American Edition' is stated on the copyright page beneath Knopf's running-borzoi (Borzoi) colophon. On a Knopf Borzoi first printing the identifying point is the PRESENCE of the numeral 1 in the number line (which reads 1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2) — not a line that 'descends' or 'ends in 1' (the line actually ends in 2, with the 1 at its head). Collates…. Knopf US 1997 (published October 1997) is the true first English-language edition. The Harvill Press UK edition followed in 1998, issued as a paperback original (no UK hardcover was published initially), so the US hardcover clearly precedes the UK. The Japanese original, Nejimaki-dori kuronikuru, appeared in three volumes (1994-1995), which correspond to the three 'books' of the single-volume English text. No significant English book-club edition. The absolute true first is the Japanese three-volume edition (1994-1995). Among English printings, the stated 'First American Edition' plus the presence of the numeral 1 in Knopf's number line distinguishes the Knopf first from later Knopf printings and from the 1998 UK Harvill issue.
• South of the Border, West of the Sun — 1999 · Alfred A. KnopfFirst American edition, Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1999, stating 'First American Edition' with a number line descending to 1 on the copyright page; translated from the Japanese by Philip Gabriel. Black boards with metallic-pink stamped title on the backstrip. First edition in English of the 1992 Japanese novel Kokkyo no minami, taiyo no nishi. The US Knopf and UK Harvill editions both appeared in 1999. No notable book-club edition.
• Norwegian Wood — 2000 · The Harvill PressFirst authorized worldwide English edition: The Harvill Press, London, 2000, translated by Jay Rubin. The Harvill first printing was issued in two volumes echoing the original Japanese layout, volume one in red wrappers and volume two in green, lettered in black and gold; a signed limited issue came housed in a bronze solander box. US Vintage International trade paperback also 2000. First widely distributed English text is the 2000 Jay Rubin translation (Harvill UK, Vintage US). An earlier Alfred Birnbaum translation was published in Japan only in 1989 by Kodansha in its English Library series, a pocket-sized edition made for Japanese students of English with an appendix of key phrases; it is the true earliest English printing but was regional and is scarce. No notable book-club edition; many later paperback printings exist.
• Sputnik Sweetheart — 2001 · The Harvill PressFirst English edition, 2001, translated by Philip Gabriel. The US Alfred A. Knopf issue is a hardcover carrying First American Edition with a descending number line. The UK Harvill Press issue was published in paperback with French flaps, not as a hardback. First English of the novel; the Japanese original was published by Kodansha in 1999. Both the Knopf US hardcover and the Harvill UK paperback appeared in 2001, and the precise month-level precedence between them is not firmly established, so neither should be asserted as the outright true first over the other. Collectors generally treat the Knopf hardcover as the primary collectible form. No notable book-club edition.
• after the quake — 2002 · Alfred A. KnopfFirst American edition, Alfred A. Knopf, 2002, translated by Jay Rubin; hardcover stating First American Edition with a descending number line. The title is styled in all lowercase by the author's insistence. First English of the short-story collection; the Japanese original appeared in 2000. Knopf US and Harvill UK both 2002. No notable book-club edition.
• Kafka on the Shore — 2005 · Alfred A. KnopfEnglish true first is the Alfred A. Knopf (New York) 2005 hardcover, translated by Philip Gabriel (ISBN 1400043662). 'First American Edition' is stated on the copyright page — Knopf's convention for a title previously published abroad — beneath the 'a Borzoi Book published by Alfred A. Knopf' colophon. The first printing is marked by the PRESENCE of the numeral 1 in Knopf's number line (which reads 1 3 5 7 9 10 8…. Both Knopf (US) and The Harvill Press (London, UK) issued first English editions in January 2005 and are effectively simultaneous — precedence is not reliably established in the sources consulted, so the earlier claim that the US Knopf 'precedes' the UK edition cannot be supported. The dated evidence in fact leans the other way: the US Knopf on-sale date was 18 January 2005, while the UK Harvill Press hardcover…. No book-club edition. Among English printings, confirm for the US first the Knopf 'First American Edition' statement and the presence of the numeral 1 in the number line; the UK first is The Harvill Press, London, 2005 (with signed limited issues of 1,000 and 100 copies alongside the trade printing). The absolute true first is the 2002 Japanese edition (Shinchosha).
• Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman — 2006 · Alfred A. KnopfFirst American edition, Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 2006, translated by Philip Gabriel and Jay Rubin (subtitle: Twenty-four Stories). Octavo in original quarter/half cloth over boards, roughly 334 pages, with a dust jacket designed by Chip Kidd; the front flap should carry the original printed price. First printing has the Knopf 'FIRST EDITION' / 'First American Edition' statement on the copyright page together…. First English of this story collection, which was assembled specifically for English-language publication from stories originally written in Japanese. The Knopf US hardcover is generally given as the first English printing, released August 29, 2006, with the Harvill Secker UK edition following the same year; the two are close in date, so precedence rests on the late-August US release. No notable book-club edition.
• What I Talk About When I Talk About Running — 2008 · Alfred A. KnopfFirst American edition, Alfred A. Knopf, 2008, translated from the Japanese by Philip Gabriel; hardcover stating First American Edition with a full descending number line on the copyright page. Bound in bright red boards with gilt titling to the spine, in a Chip Kidd-designed dust jacket that should retain its printed price (a clipped jacket does not itself denote a later state). Spiral-bound advance galley…. First English-language edition of the memoir; the Japanese original appeared in 2007. Knopf US and Harvill Secker UK both 2008. No notable book-club edition. The later Vintage International trade paperback is a reprint, not the first edition.
• 1Q84 — 2011 · Alfred A. KnopfFirst complete English-language edition, gathering all three books in a single volume. Translated by Jay Rubin (Books 1-2) and Philip Gabriel (Book 3). Borzoi colophon on the copyright page; first printing carries the full number line. Distinctive semi-transparent (translucent) dust jacket designed by Chip Kidd and Maggie Hinders. Knopf US October 2011 one-volume edition is the first complete English-language edition. The UK Harvill Secker issue is contemporaneous but a different format: Books 1-2 published 18 October 2011, Book 3 published 25 October 2011, two physical volumes. The Japanese original appeared 2009-2010. The Vintage paperback is the reprint. Distinguish the US single-volume first from the UK two-volume split issue (and from the Harvill Secker perspex-jacketed limited edition of 111 copies).
• Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage — 2014 · Alfred A. KnopfFirst American edition, Alfred A. Knopf, 2014, translated by Philip Gabriel; hardcover stating First American Edition with a descending number line. Distinctive design with a dust jacket carrying die-cut windows backed with clear cellophane over illustrated boards. First English; the Japanese original appeared in 2013. The English translation was released worldwide on 12 August 2014, with the US Knopf and UK Harvill Secker editions appearing together that year. No notable book-club edition.
• The Strange Library — 2014 · Alfred A. KnopfUS Knopf 2014 first edition, fully illustrated in color, designed by Chip Kidd; translated by Ted Goossen. US issue carries a First American Edition statement. First English edition of this novella. The US Knopf design (Chip Kidd) is entirely distinct from the concurrent UK Harvill Secker design (Suzanne Dean, with marbled endpapers and antique plates); collectors treat the two as separate physical firsts by market. No notable book club edition.
• Wind/Pinball: Two Novels — 2015 · Alfred A. KnopfUS Knopf 2015, First American Edition stated on the copyright page with the number line ending in 1; translated by Ted Goossen and containing 'Hear the Wind Sing' and 'Pinball, 1973.' The jacket and binding were designed by Chip Kidd. A priced dust jacket should be present on a first-issue copy. First widely distributed English edition of Murakami's first two novels, issued in new Goossen translations. Earlier Alfred Birnbaum English translations existed only as Kodansha English Library pocketbooks sold in Japan. US Knopf and UK Harvill Secker both appeared in August 2015, effectively simultaneous, with a near-simultaneous Canadian Bond Street Books printing. Japanese originals 1979/1980. No notable book club edition.
• Killing Commendatore — 2018 · Alfred A. KnopfUS Knopf 2018 (ISBN 978-0-525-52004-7), 'First American Edition' stated on the copyright page with a number line ending in 1. Issued as a single 704-page volume translated by Philip Gabriel and Ted Goossen, in black pictorial glossy boards showing a moon and an eclipsed sun, with lettering to the spine; the priced dust jacket should be present and unclipped. Collation [12], 5-681, [15] pages. First English-language edition. US Knopf and UK Harvill Secker were both published on 9 October 2018, so neither has clear temporal precedence; the 'First American Edition' statement identifies the US issue, while the UK issue carries its own descending number line. The Japanese original appeared in two volumes in February 2017; the English translation consolidates both volumes into one. No notable book club edition; later Knopf printings advance the number line and Vintage issued the trade paperback reprint.

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