Talk:Wakeijuku

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Literal meaning

I would not say "A Place to Seek Harmony and Respect" is the literal meaning - that is a translation. The literal meaning is the much less evocative "Harmony and Respect Dormitory". RosinDebow 14:36, 11 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Trivia

Correct me if I'm wrong but I don't believe Wakeijuku is mentioned by name in Norwegian Wood. I read it many years ago but I recall that there were several indications in the book that it was likely Wakeijuku he was referring to, and I had heard but can't confirm that Murakami was a resident. RosinDebow 14:19, 11 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

There were no replies after a week so I'm going ahead and removing the sentence. The Japanese version of the article states that Wakeijuku may have been used as a model for the dormitory, but that too is unverifiable. RosinDebow 13:27, 18 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I am a current resident of Wakeijuku. Management has confirmed with me that he indeed stayed in this dormitory for about 2 years. He stayed at the North Dorm, which as of this writing is under demolition. The Dormitory mentioned in Norwegian Wood is definitely Wakeijuku as Senior-Junior relationship and other forms of culture still exist today albeit in a much more toned downed way. They also did away with the strict flag raising. Trystan_a 10:55, 7 November 2007

The sentence I removed was "Wakeijuku is briefly mentioned in [Norwegian Wood]". I don't doubt that he stayed at Wakeijuku, and one could easily infer that he used it as a model for the dormitory in the book, but I think that it is too much of a stretch to say that it is literally Wakeijuku described in the book, unless Murakami said so in a source we can cite. RosinDebow 23:49, 7 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Murakami was only at Wakeijuku for around six months, and stayed in Nishi-ryo, the west dorm -- not North as stated. I confirmed this with a Waseda law professor (whose name I have forgotten, unfortunately) and ex-resident while staying at Wakeijuku. I would add my impression that, while Wakeijuku is not mentioned by name in Norwegian Wood, it is flagged very clearly; the layout of the buildings is more or less identical, save that Murakami twists things around to have the protagonist live in the "east dorm" -- which didn't exist at the time. The description of the flagpole outside the building and other details is accurate, however. Aragoto (having login issues) 203.112.80.138 (talk) 04:59, 15 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

A bit of information that I have been unable to verify in print thus far: Anecdotally, an ex-resident and Waseda University professor who was at Wakeijuku during the period described in Norwegian Wood described to me how the dorm was caught up in the student politics of the late 60s, with a significant number of the residents joining Yukio Mishima's Shield Society. He related how the (unusually hardcore) Kenseikan karate club was formed to give the disbanded Shield Society members an outlet for their frustration at not being able to join Mishima's ill-fated expedition to the Ichigaya Self-Defense Force headquarters. It's the presence of the right-wingers that many speculate drove Murakami out, along with his general dislike of group activities. Aragoto (having login issues) 203.112.80.138 (talk) 04:59, 15 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Hyperbole

The section on Location reads like a PR brochure; Wakeijuku is not particularly conveniently situated, or no more so than many other central Tokyo locations. Also, describing Takadanobaba as a major centre is plain BS; it's major only in terms of per-capita beer consumption, most of which is by Waseda University students, and as a transport hub. Aragoto (having login issues) 203.112.80.138 (talk) 05:22, 15 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]