Analysis Of Haruki Murakami's Short Stories

UFO in Kushiro: A Journey towards Self-Actualization

Discuss about the Cortisol Levels and Subjective Reporting.

The short story titled, “UFO in Kushiro,” by Haruki Murakami, follows Komura as he goes on a trip to Hokkaido to try and get over his wife leaving him. The thread of the story is derived from the 1995 Kobe earthquake which leads to significant loss of life and property. After the earthquake Komura’s wife is glued to the television for five days watching the footage from the earthquake. The relationship between the two is estranged and on the 6^th day Komura’s wife decides to leave him. His wife leaving devastates him and he decides to take a break from his normal activities. His friend asks him to deliver a parcel to Keiko in Hokkaido and the journey to Hokkaido end up being a journey of self actualization for Komura.

According to the letter left by Komura’s wife, the main reason as to why she was leaving him was the fact that he had nothing inside and he was only a, ‘chunk of air’ (Boulter 127). This description of Kumora by his wife serves to indicate that he was not a self actualized man. According to Abraham Maslow, in his book, “Motivation and Personality,” a self-actualized person shares close relations with those in his immediate environment and also has a feeling of affection and identification towards the whole human race. Maslow indicates that a self-actualized man has fulfilled all the requirements in his hierarchy of needs and as a result he/she is able to share efficiently with others and develop close relationships with them.

The ability of self actualized individuals to develop close relationship with others also stems from the fact that they tend to be friendly and kind to almost everyone they interact with making them quite lovable. From the story it is evident that Kumora was unable to develop a close relationship with his wife due to the fact that they were unable to share a sense of belonging and love. The fact that Kumora found it difficult to get over his wife leaving him can be regarded as a sign that he was not a self-actualized man.

According to Maslow and Albert Einstein, one of the key attributes of self-actualized individuals is that they do not stick to the familiar and easily embrace change, the ambiguous and the unknown (Maslow 22). They are not shocked or threatened with changes in their lives or what they do not understand; instead they embrace that which they do not understand in an effort to better understand it.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs in UFO in Kushiro

The fact that Kumora was also uncomfortable being alone also serves to indicate that he was not a self actualized man In describing the characteristics of a self actualized man, Maslow indicates that self actualized individuals is comfortable being alone and find comfort in solitude (Maslow 27). He states that despite having satisfying relationships with other individuals, self actualized people value solitude as it enables them to think and reflect on their lives (Maslow 30).

According to Maslow’s theory of self actualization a person needs to fulfill five different needs in life to obtain self actualization namely physiological needs, safety, belonging and love needs, esteem needs and finally the obtainment of self actualization (Maslow 31). From the story, it is evident that Kumaro had fulfilled the first need, physiological needs, in the self actualization hierarchy. In the story, it is evident that Kumora used to leave in a state of fear. This is seen when the author indicates that Kumora’s state of tension could only dissipate when he was with his wife. It is also evident in the statement that Kumora used to live in a perpetual fear of venereal diseases, the vastness of the universe or death and these fears were only quelled when he was with his wife.

However, after his interactions with Shimao, Kumaro realizes that he should stop leaving in a state of fear and starts to embrace his life. Through this realization, it can be argued that the interactions with Shimao enabled Kumaro to attain the second level in the self actualization hierarchy tree which is safety needs. In defining the characteristics of a self-actualized man, Maslow indicates that self- actualized individuals do not leave in fear but instead embrace their life with the aim of making it better. By deciding to stop leaving his life in fear Kumaro overcome the first huddle of self actualization.

Kumaro’s journey to travel to Hokkaido also enabled him to attain the third need, belonging and love, under Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. According to Maslow, for one to attain self actualization, he/she needs to be able to develop close relationship with other people. The relationship can be based on trust, friendship, acceptance and in some instances intimacy. The fact that the relationship between Kumaro and his wife was estranged indicates that there was little to no love between the two.

However, from the story it is evident that through his interactions with Shimao, Kumaro develops a strong and intimate relationship with her. This is seen when the two try to sleep together and through the sexual conversations that they have. The author also indicates that Kumaro felt a sense of belonging when he arrived at Hokkaido and they started to converse with Shimao on different issues.

Self-Actualization in Super Frog Saves Tokyo

The third need in self actualization model is esteem needs. Maslow’s indicates that for one to obtain self-actualization, he/she needs to attain a feeling of self accomplishment and prestige. Esteem needs are classified into two categories namely personal esteem (achievement, dignity, independence, mastery) and desire for respect and reputation from other individuals. In the story Kumaro lacks independence from his wife due to the fact that he is only at peace when he is with his wife. It is also evident in the fact that Kumaro is unable to stop thinking about his wife after the wife left him. However, when interacting with Shimao, Kumaro does not think about his wife indicating the obtainment of personal independence. His interactions with Shimao also help him in enhance his personal esteem. This is evident in the fact that he feels confident enough to talk about his sexcapedes with Shimoa.

 The final step in the self actualization ladder is the actual self actualization itself. This is the stage where the person obtains self-fulfillment and is able to learn more about him/her and be able to answer personal questions that plague him. In the story, Kumaro seeks the answer behind the reason as to why his wife refers to him as a ‘chunk of air’. This is evident when Kumaro confides about the note left to him by his wife. Shimao informs Kumaro that the package that he bought contained the something that his wife said he is missing. In the end thanks to the conversation Kumaro is able to understand the emptiness his wife was referring to in her note and thus obtain self actualization.

The short story titled, Super Frog Saves Tokyo,” follows Katagari a collections officer for Tokyo Security Trust Bank and Frog as they seek to stop another earthquake that will be bigger than the Kobe earthquake. The story raises major questions regarding the question of reality and the distinction between what is real and what is not. In the story Katagiri attempts to determine whether or not the experiences he is going through are true or not. In the story, the line that exists between imagination and reality is completely blurred making it difficult for Katagiri to distinguish between what is real and what is not. However, it can be concluded that Katagiri was only imagining the entire interaction between him and frog and this paper provides arguments to the same.

The Blurred Line between Reality and Imagination in Super Frog Saves Tokyo

The term real is used to refer to something that has a physical presence or exists as a fact and not an aspect of imagination. This definition of reality is largely confounded by Katagiri’s experiences with frog. In his interactions with Katigiri’s Frog is presented as a physical, corporeal being. This is seen in the introductory section of the paper when Katigiri asks frig to prove if he is a true frog and he does that. However, the fact that Frog is only visible to Katigiri serves to bring into questionthe fact of his reality.

This is evident in the story when the author indicates that Katigiri struggles to understand whether his interactions with frog are real or just an aspect of his imagination. He is so conflicted with the affair that he wonders as to whether or not he is able to trust his senses in attempting to understand the ongoing around him. One of the major reasons as to why Katagiri’s experiences can be said to be as a result of his imagination is the fact that Frog only appears to him. This fact is evident when Frog self-destructs leaving a putrid mess in the story’s end.

The mess is visible to Katigiri but vanish immediately when the nurse who was attending to Katigiri turns on the switch to enter the room. It is also evident from the fact that there is no other witness who is able to confirm the existence of Frog and his interactions with Katigiri excepts for the Big bear executive who is unnamed and unseen. The fact that no tangible information is provided on the existence of the Big Bear Executive, it is logical to conclude that even the executive was an element of Katigiri’s imagination.

Frog also admits to Katigiri that he travels between the realms of dream and imagination thereby serving to make him unreal. This statement serves to strengthen the fact that Frog is only a figment of Katigiri’s imagination as something that ascribes to the definition of real cannot be able to travel between the dreams and imagination of a person. This is because dreams and imaginations are intangible and corporeal objects are tangible.

The argument that Frog is an element of Katagiri’s imagination is further supported by the Frog’s statements when he informs Katigiri that the battle between him and worm was in the arena of his imagination (Murakami 135). Frog told Katigiri that he traveled with him to the arena where they fought with Worm in his dreams. This is physically impossible as individuals are unable to travel while in their dreams. In a study conducted on the biological process of the human body during sleep, it was revealed that the human body releases a hormone that prevents people from being able to make certain actions in our sleeps (Ghaly, Maand Dale 179). This serves as a form of protection as it prevents people from performing certain mechanical actions that might injure them while they sleep. Based on this it is logical to conclude that it was impossible for Katagiri to physically go with Frog to the battle ground.

In his dying statements, the Frog warns Katagiri that he should be cognizant of the fact that what he sees with his eyes may not be necessarily real (Murakami 140). This is the strongest indicator of the fact that Frog was not real but an aspect of Katagiri’s imagination. It also serves as a major indicator to the fact that nothing in the adventures between Katagiri and super frog was real.

Even though Frog can be argued to be a figment of Katagiri’s imagination, the line between reality and imagination is blurred by the fact that the emotional impact of the story makes it quite complicated to disregard the unreal events. The story has a number of riddles that do not result to true intellectual understanding for the reader or katagiri however, in the end of the story the satisfaction he obtains from his perceived interaction with Frog is evident. Even though the impact there might never have been a threat to Tokyo, the impact that Frog had on Katagiri is tangible and real. Thus given the definition of what is real and not. It can be argued that even though Frog was unreal, the level of satisfaction Katagiri obtained was real. Therefore the story contains both elements of reality and imagination.

Murakami, Haruki. "Super-frog saves Tokyo." After the quake: Stories (2002): 111-140.

Boulter, Jonathan. "Writing guilt: Haruki Murakami and the archives of national mourning." ESC: English Studies in Canada32.1 (2006): 125-145.

Maslow, Abraham. Motivation and personality. Vol. 2. New York: Harper & Row, 1970.

Ghaly, Maurice, and Dale Teplitz. "The biologic effects of grounding the human body during sleep as measured by cortisol levels and subjective reporting of sleep, pain, and stress." Journal of Alternative & Complementary Medicine 10.5 (2004): 767-776.