Murakami Haruki went to Waseda University to study drama in 1968. Waseda is a prestigious university in Tokyo, Japan. He was thinking to become a screenwriter at the time. However, Murakami was not much interested in the university, and did not go to classes often. Instead, he spent most of his time doing part time jobs and listening jazz.

In 1971 when Murakami was still a university student, he got married to Takahashi Yoko who was also a student from Waseda University. They opened a jazz bar called 'Peter Cat' in 1974. And a year later in 1975 Murakami eventually graduated from the university.

After graduation, Murakami continued his jazz bar business. But one day he suddenly had a desire to write books when watching a baseball game. In 1979, he published his first book 'Hear the Wind Sing', and to concentrate on the writing, he sold the jazz bar in 1982.