Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Reality and Subjective Experience
Free Will
Desire and Irrationality
The Personal Impact of War
Social Alienation
Summary
Analysis
Lieutenant Mamiya recounts a lengthy tale from his past to Toru. Due to his background in geography, Mamiya was assigned to the Military Survey Corps when he joined the army in 1937. He considered himself lucky because it was a non-combat role, and the Corps stationed him in the relatively peaceful region of Manchuria. However, his comfortable position changed in April 1938 when he was assigned to accompany a man named Yamamoto to Mongolia. Mamiya's superiors told him that Yamamoto was a civilian posing as a Mongolian to learn their customs, but Mamiya suspected he was actually a skilled soldier.
In 1927, Japan put the Military Service Law into place, which required all young men to report for military examinations when they turned 20. If the military decided they wanted a particular person to serve, that individual was required to perform military service. Between 1937 and 1945 (the end of World War II), over 2.5 million Japanese men died in armed conflicts. Although this number is immense, it pales in comparison to the number of men lost by Germany, China, and the Soviet Union.
Themes
Only three men, including Hamano and Corporal Honda, were assigned as armed escorts. Mamiya's task involved studying and documenting the topography of the areas they traveled through. After a few days, Yamamoto informed Mamiya of their plan to cross the Khalkha River into Outer Mongolia. Mamiya did not want to cross the Khalkha because he did not want to incense the Soviet Union, which was allied with Mongolia. However, Yamamoto assured him that the mission had high-level approval and that he would take full responsibility. Ultimately, the unit crossed the river and entered Outer Mongolia.
Mamiya’s mission takes place a little over a year before the start of World War II. At this point, Japan engaged in skirmishes with Soviet and Mongolian forces along their border. However, so far, they managed to avoid an all-out war. Mamiya worries that crossing the Khalkha River will escalate tensions with the enemy, resulting in a more significant conflict. Furthermore, he knows the mission will be dangerous, and there is a decent probability he will die.
Themes
At one point, they encountered a Mongolian horseman who had a private conversation with Yamamoto in Mongolian. Afterward, Yamamoto informed Mamiya that he would be leaving with the man. If he did not return within 36 hours, one of them should return to their base camp and report him missing. Left in enemy territory, Corporal Honda, Lieutenant Mamiya, and Hamano remained vigilant and speculated on Yamamoto's true identity and purpose in Outer Mongolia. Hamano suggested that Yamamoto and the Mongolian horseman were planning to ally themselves with the Japanese army and anti-Soviet Mongolians, potentially sparking a war between the Soviet Union and Japan.
Keeping with the novel’s tendency toward ambiguity, Murakami reveals the purpose of Yamamoto’s conversation with the Mongolian horseman. Instead, the reader only learns what Mamiya learns—which is not much. Although this lack of information can sometimes be frustrating, it fits with the novel’s larger themes of alienation and subjective experience. Although Mamiya would like to know more about his current situation, he only knows what his body and mind tell him. He will never know what Yamamoto does, unless Yamamoto wishes for him to know.
Themes
Yamamoto eventually returned to the camp with a bullet wound in his arm. Yamamoto does not explain his wound. However, the others tend to it right away. As soon as he is able, Yamamoto rounds up the unit and they depart for the nearest observation post. On their way to the post, Yamamoto instead speaks to Mamiya about some important documents in his bag. He claims that it is of the utmost importance that they reach headquarters, no matter what happens. If that was impossible, then Mamiya must destroy the documents. They were highly classified and could not fall into enemy hands.
Again, the narration leaves Yamamoto’s actions up to interpretation, though his bullet wound reaffirms that the squad’s mission is dangerous. On the one hand, it is frustrating that Yamamoto does not tell his squad more about their assignment. On the other hand, given that his knowledge is probably highly sensitive and therefore dangerous to possess, it is safer if they do not know the full extent of what they are doing.
Themes
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Additionally, Yamamoto instructed Mamiya to shoot and kill him if they found themselves in a dire situation. Although Mamiya had never taken a life before, he reluctantly accepted the responsibility. While contemplating the mission ahead, Mamiya asked Honda if he thought they would die. Speaking with absolute conviction, Honda assured Mamiya that of all the men on the mission, he would survive the longest and ultimately die in Japan.
Again, Yamamoto’s orders suggest that his information is incredibly important, making it all the more frustrating that the narration never reveals what it is. Meanwhile, Honda’s prediction is ominous; although he is correct that Mamiya will make it out of the conflict alive, his tone suggests that the same is not true for the rest of the squad.
Themes
