gender in Murakami's writing

Since I started reading Murakami's writing, I have been both intrigued and sometimes disappointed by his portrayals of women. What I gathered from the interview we read between Mieko Kawakami and Murakami is that the lack of depth in many of Murakami's female characters is not due to misogyny, but to the fact that Murakami doesn't really understand the female perspective. This is especially clear from Murakami's response to Kawakami's question about why Mariye in Killing Commendatore (who is a 12-year-old girl) talks about her breasts with the narrator so often; Murakami says "the fact that she asks him for his opinion on her breasts suggests that she doesn’t really see him as a man. She doesn’t recognize him as a sexual object. This strengthens the introspectiveness, or philosophical nature, of their dialogue." I have not read Killing Commendatore, however, it is quite unrealistic that such a young girl would feel comfortable talking about her breasts with an older man and I am skeptical about how this would add to the introspective or philosophical nature of their conversation. 

I would also agree with Kawakami's claim that the majority of Murakami's female characters are not able "to exist on their own." Many of Murakami's female characters serve a distinct purpose for the main male protagonist whether that is for their sexual desires or their psychological journeys (or both), but it is unclear what purpose they serve for themselves, what they truly want. Even if Murakami has not consciously or purposefully created this pattern for his female characters, that does not mean it doesn't exist. 

However, I also could understand Murakami's perspective from this interview. Murakami says "We can talk about the women in my novels as a group, but to me, they’re unique individuals, and on a fundamental level, before I see them as a man or woman, I see them as a human being." I think Murakami's intention to see all of his characters as human beings before seeing them as a man or woman is good, but a bit unrealistic. Also, even if Murakami isn't focused on the gender of his characters while writing them, his characters themselves (if they were real people) would certainly be aware of their gender, especially his female characters since there different societal standards that come with being perceived as a woman. 

Penny