# Is "South of the Border, West of the Sun" by Haruki Murakami a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of South of the Border, West of the Sun by Haruki Murakami (Alfred A. Knopf, 1999) is identified by: First American edition, Alfred A. First edition in English of the 1992 Japanese novel Kokkyo no minami, taiyo no nishi.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First 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
- Publisher imprint reads Alfred A. Knopf
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Haruki Murakami |
| Publisher | Alfred A. Knopf |
| Year | 1999 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First American edition, Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1999, stating 'First American Edition'… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
First 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.

## Is this the true first?
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.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No notable book-club edition.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *South of the Border, West of the Sun* by Haruki Murakami a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/south-of-the-border-west-of-the-sun
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-03.