UT Meets T-shirt Fan Haruki Murakami

UT has created a collaboration line with internationally celebrated author Haruki Murakami. Special sales events to mark the release are currently being held at bookstores around Japan. Enojoy Murakami world not just through his novels, but by wearing it as well!

The gem book design and "Murakami RADIO" character are on T-shirts.

The “HARUKI MURAKAMI x UT x Murakami Radio” collection was newly added to the UT lineup this spring and distributed globally. Fans can enjoy the Murakami world through this collection with prints featuring cover designs and phrases from his novels, as well as illustrations by artist Masaru Fujimoto of the cat character and records from the Tokyo FM radio program Murakami RADIO, hosted by Murakami where he talks freely about his love for music. Stickers with Fujimoto’s illustrations are also available. The collection further includes the strikingly colorful paintings by Maki Sasaki that adorned the covers of Murakami’s early works. Two pin badges were also created in collaboration with Sasaki.

The works featured in this collection (Pinball 1973, Norwegian Wood, Dance Dance Dance, Sputnik Sweetheart, Kafka on the Shore, and 1Q84) are bestsellers from periods spanning Murakami’s career. Booksellers Maruzen (Kyoto, Ariake Garden, and Umeda stores) and Junkudo (Nagoya Sakae and Fukuoka stores) are currently holding special sales events with displays featuring these novels, along with related publications by Masaru Fujimoto and the UT collection. We hope that this collection will provide more people with an opportunity to experience Murakami’s literature through T-shirts, or by obtaining items from the collection at UNIQLO stores, inspire readers to head to a bookstore to discover these masterpieces.

Customers who purchase works by Haruki Murakami from the Shincho Bunko or Kodansha Bunko series will also be eligible for a drawing to receive a UT shirt with a special design not sold as part of the regular collection.

In addition, beginning March 8, the Bookstore Seasonal Bookmark Series will feature a special UT collaboration design. These bookmarks will be available at the five shops with the special displays, and XX additional locations.

The character in the Seasonal Bookmark Series wears a Murakami T-shirt. Illustration by Akira Odagiri, copywriting by Yoshiki Noda

© Haruki Murakami 2021 / ©Maki Sasaki 2021 by Medialynx Japan
"Pinball, 1973" (published by Kodansha in 1980) published the following year. Illustrators Maki Sasaki worked on the cover illustrations.

© Haruki Murakami 2021
From one of the beloved young-adult novels of all time, Norwegian Wood(Kodansha, 1987), we picked cover style of the English edition(Kodansha International) which is not available any more, as a design for the T-shirt. The red title on a dark green background catches the eye.

© Haruki Murakami 2021 / ©Maki Sasaki 2021 by Medialynx Japan
Maki Sasaki’s illustration was again featured on the cover of Dance Dance Dance (Kodansha, 1988). A casual stitched design on the front is complemented with a colorful back print of the cover illustrations from volumes one and two.

© Haruki Murakami 2021
This back design combines the cover illustration for Sputnik Sweetheart (Kodansha, 1999) with the phrase from the novel, “Understanding is but the sum of our misunderstandings.”

© Haruki Murakami 2021
The cover illustration of a crow from Kafka on the Shore (Shinchosha, 2002) and a phrase in Japanese from the novel stand out against the navy-blue body. Kafka is a crow in Czech language.

© Haruki Murakami 2021 / ©フジモトマサル / © TOKYO FM
Illustrator Masaru Fujimoto handled the artwork for Murakami RADIO. The two designs feature a vinal record beloved by Murakami (top), and a cat character typical of Fujimoto (bottom).