Waseda Universityโs newest addition, the long-awaited Waseda International House of Literature (The Haruki Murakami Library) opened to the public on October 1, 2021.ย
In November 2018,ย plans were revealed for the establishment of an international research centre at Waseda. In June 2019, these plans were further realized by theย announcementย of the Waseda International House of Literature with a Haruki Murakami Library concept, and construction began with the renovation of Building 4 on Waseda Campus.
In addition to the attendance of the author himself, Haruki Murakami, the press conference also saw Tadashi Yanai, Chairman, President, and CEO of Japan-based Fast Retailing Co., Ltd., and Kengo Kuma, world-renowned architect and Specially Appointed Waseda University Professor.
Yanaiโs generous financial support through theย Yanai Initiative for Globalizing Japanese Humanitiesย helped make the vision of the Waseda International House of Literature a reality, and Kuma was behind theย architectural design and reconstructionย of Building 4 into the new facility. The support of Yanai and Kuma, both Waseda alumni, was essential to making this ambitious project possible.
A short film directed by Kei Shichiri, titled โExplore Your Story, Speak Your Heart,โ beautifully captures the architecture of the Waseda International House of Literature, and โexplores the relationship between people and books through the interplay of light and shadow.โ
