Norwegian Wood: Midori Kobayashi

Midori Kobayashi Japan in the 1960’s was the decade of psychedelic drugs, sex and the baby boomers. The novel Norwegian Wood follows Toru Wantanabe as he takes a flashback to his college years in Tokyo, Japan during the late 1960’s. We follow Wantanabe as he meets people throughout his college education, who will soon play an important role in his life; One of those people being Midori Kobayashi, who we learn to love. Midori is one of the characters in the novel that comes off as a bit odd and aggressive, but as we read further and learn more about Japanese culture and society, we learn why she is the way she is. Midori Koboyashi is vivacious, outgoing, wishy-washy, confident, independent, outspoken and a liar all in one. Midori is not …show more content…
In Japan, sex is not discussed. There is no “the birds and the bees” talk, there is no sexual education until high school, but with a country whose age of consent is 13, that needs to be fixed. The lack of discussion may be the reason why Midori is the way she is. Midori is a rebel and that rebelliousness leads to her being open with her sexuality; she says what is on her mind and the majority of that time, sex is on her mind. However, it should be noted that Midori does have a boyfriend throughout most of the novel, but said boyfriend is not introduced and Midori makes it clear that their sex life is almost non-existent. Japanese citizens admit to having casual sex throughout college, but as they enter the workforce, their sex lives disappear. Midori has no care in the world about how open she is about sex. On page 174, she asks Toru, “Have you ever thought about me when you were doing it? Tell me the truth, I won’t get mad.”; That line itself made me, as the reader, uncomfortable, but it did not seem to phase Toru. Midori also asks Toru to take her to a pornographic film, where she ends up being the only woman in the theater, which proves that Midori is not like other Japanese woman. She is not modest or afraid of her sexuality- she is proud and boisterous. In Japanese society, how is it that there is an extravagant amount of prostitution, yet women do …show more content…
As we read further into the novel, we notice feelings are beginning to spark between Toru and Midori, yet there is no love confession. Finally near the end of the novel, Midori tells Toru she loves him and he, in response, tells her he loves her as well. All throughout the novel, their relationship is blossoming. The only barrier in their relationship is Toru’s love for another woman and Midori being in a relationship with someone who does not show her the love she is looking for. Once they confess their love for one another, the readers might assume that they are in a relationship, yet once Midori pleases him, the book does not mention her