Norwegian Wood Characters

An aloof, uncertain young man, Toru moves from his hometown of Kobe to Tokyo to study at Waseda University shortly after losing his best friend, Kizuki, to suicide. Toru’s worldview is formed by the… read analysis of Toru Watanabe

Toru’s primary love interest and a close friend from his youth in Kobe. Naoko is quiet, demure, sensitive, and esoteric. Toru loves spending time with her, even when all they do is walk around… read analysis of Naoko

Toru’s secondary love interest, Midori, is a bright, talkative, adventurous student at Waseda University. A free-spirited drama major who says whatever is on her mind—most of the time, at least—Midori is Naoko’s polar… read analysis of Midori Kobayashi

Naoko’s roommate at the Ami Hostel who becomes both her and Toru’s close friend. A woman in her late thirties whose lifelong battle with depression has caused her to “snap” and lose her… read analysis of Reiko Ishida

One of Toru’s dormmates and friends in Tokyo. A serious student and an even more serious womanizer, Nagasawa is smooth, slick, and charming. Though he has lofty dreams of a future in the Foreign… read analysis of Nagasawa

Nagasawa’s girlfriend. A chic, pleasant, mild-mannered young woman, Hatsumi masks her unhappy interior by dressing well and maintaining an air of calm collection. Deep down, however, Hatsumi is full of rage and grief over… read analysis of Hatsumi

Toru’s roommate in the private dorm he lives in upon first arriving in Tokyo. “Clean-crazy,” stuttering, and obsessed with timeliness, exercise, and regimentation of his routine, Storm Trooper serves as a kind of comic… read analysis of Storm Trooper

Midori’s father. By the time Toru meets Mr. Kobayashi, he is in the hospital, dying from a malignant brain tumor. Mr. Kobayashi is quiet, hoarse, and deeply ill—a far cry, Midori says, from the… read analysis of Mr. Kobayashi

A former piano student of Reiko’s. A schoolgirl of 13, Reiko’s pupil demonstrated intensity and vibrancy in her music-making, and Reiko decided to take the girl on in spite of her lack of technique… read analysis of Reiko’s Pupil