# Is "The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle" by Haruki Murakami a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami (Alfred A. Knopf, 1997) is identified by: First English-language edition, translated by Jay Rubin. Knopf US 1997 (published October 1997) is the true first English-language edition.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First 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 [viii], 611, [3] pages in blue-and-white pictorial boards; issued in an unclipped pictorial dust jacket with the price present at the front flap
- The English text is shorter than the Japanese: at Knopf's request Rubin cut about 25,000 words — three complete chapters (Book Two chapters 15 and 18, and Book Three chapter 26) plus part of Book Two chapter 17, roughly 61 of the original ~1,379 pages — with Murakami's approval
- Publisher imprint reads Alfred A. Knopf
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Haruki Murakami |
| Publisher | Alfred A. Knopf |
| Year | 1997 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First English-language edition, translated by Jay Rubin. 'First American Edition' is stated on the copyright page beneath Knopf's… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
First 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 [viii], 611, [3] pages in blue-and-white pictorial boards; issued in an unclipped pictorial dust jacket with the price present at the front flap. The English text is shorter than the Japanese: at Knopf's request Rubin cut about 25,000 words — three complete chapters (Book Two chapters 15 and 18, and Book Three chapter 26) plus part of Book Two chapter 17, roughly 61 of the original ~1,379 pages — with Murakami's approval.

## Is this the true first?
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.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
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.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle* by Haruki Murakami a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-wind-up-bird-chronicle
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-04.