dark tunnel. think why to he explains. His attraction to “I that’s I’m attracted darkness,” darkness leads to his attraction to the subconscious, an ultimate darkness the “where unconscious mind The subconscious is a chamber in which the reigns supreme.” conscious visitor is unwelcome, creating a tension and fight between the two halves over dominance of identity. Professor Tanaka of Konan University describes the subconscious as a that is connected to ( “place one’s heart” He adds, it is an uncontrollable part of the self that is associated with complete darkness (「コントロールもできなに暗い闇のような部分がある」). For Murakami, it is this darkness, which symbolizes the yami), 「暗い闇」(kurai subconscious. becomes aware of this dark subconscious when he realizes his lack of Tōru knowledge about his own wife. He realizes with sadness and awe that a world “inside lay that belonged to Kumiko alone, a vast world that I had never known. I saw it as a big, dark The darkness mentioned here is her subconscious, which he describes as a room.” room, similar to how subconscious is a hotel. Kumiko has known about this Tōru’s subconscious part of her that her husband would never reach. Back in her description of the jellyfish, the that she is referring to, which she asserts in a much “real world” “is darker and deeper than the world we know, is each respective place” person’s subconscious. In the world of Murakami, the subconscious and darkness are related; begins Tōru to understand this and decides that the only way he will be able to tap into his subconscious along with is to go to the bottom of the well, just as Mamiya – Kumiko’s – did in outer Mongolia, where he was able to into a place that might be called “descend the very core of my own is sure that his inner self can be reached consciousness.” Tōru
dark tunnel. “I think that’s why I’m attracted to darkness,” he explains. His attraction to darkness leads to his attraction to the subconscious, an ultimate darkness “where the unconscious mind reigns supreme.” The subconscious is a chamber in which the conscious visitor is unwelcome, creating a tension and fight between the two halves over dominance of identity. Professor Tanaka of Konan University describes the subconscious as a “place that is connected to one’s heart” ( He adds, it is an uncontrollable part of the self that is associated with complete darkness (「コントロールもできなに暗い闇のような部分がある」). For Murakami, it is this 「暗い闇」(kurai yami), darkness, which symbolizes the subconscious. Tōru becomes aware of this dark subconscious when he realizes his lack of knowledge about his own wife. He realizes with sadness and awe that “inside lay a world that belonged to Kumiko alone, a vast world that I had never known. I saw it as a big, dark room.” The darkness mentioned here is her subconscious, which he describes as a room, similar to how Tōru’s subconscious is a hotel. Kumiko has known about this subconscious part of her that her husband would never reach. Back in her description of the jellyfish, the “real world” that she is referring to, which she asserts “is in a much darker and deeper place” than the world we know, is each person’s respective subconscious. In the world of Murakami, the subconscious and darkness are related; Tōru begins to understand this and decides that the only way he will be able to tap into his subconscious – along with Kumiko’s – is to go to the bottom of the well, just as Mamiya did in outer Mongolia, where he was able to “descend into a place that might be called the very core of my own consciousness.” Tōru is sure that his inner self can be reached