This is by no means an exhaustive list of all of the vocabulary words in The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, nor does it attempt to be. This is simply a list of my favourite words that I came across while reading. Some of them I’ve never seen before, some are familiar words used in interesting contexts, and others are words I knew from before but haven’t used much in my own writing. I hope you enjoy!
I’ve also written posts about metaphors & similes and descriptions [in progress] in The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle.
Definitions are sourced from the Dictionary application by Apple, which includes definitions from the New Oxford American Dictionary and the British Oxford Dictionary of English. I defer to Wikipedia where a definition can’t be found.
Frisson
- a sudden strong feeling of excitement or fear; a thrill: a frisson of excitement.
[Murakami] aims to provoke not just a frisson of unsettlement, but a deeper, more consequential unease.
Veranda
- a roofed platform along the outside of a house, level with the ground floor: I’ll be on the veranda.
I went to the kitchen for a glass of water, then out to the veranda to look at the cat’s dish.
Expedient
- a means of attaining an end, especially one that is convenient but possibly improper or immoral: the current policy is a political expedient.
The people of the neighborhood called it “the alley” strictly as an expedient.
Leavings
- things that have been left as worthless: she dropped her lunch leavings into a bin.
An old, brown, withered Christmas tree stood in the corner of one garden. Another had become the dumping ground for every toy known to man, the apparent leavings of several childhoods.
Tiff
- a petty quarrel, especially one between friends or lovers: Joanna had a tiff with her boyfriend.
We’d had a little tiff and would have forgotten about it in a couple of days.
Blurted
- say (something) suddenly and without careful consideration: she blurted out the truth | [with direct speech] : ‘It wasn’t my idea,’ Gordon blurted.
"Please forgive me, sir," blurted the woman's voice.
Austerity
- sternness or severity of manner or attitude: he was noted for his austerity and his authoritarianism.
"... You must not put anything but that water in your mouth for an entire week. This is a kind of discipline that is required there. I believe it can be called a religious austerity..."
Prognostication
- the action of prophesying future events: an unprecedented amount of soul-searching and prognostication.
She did have a touch of superstition, and she could be upset by an ominous prognostication, but she never went out of her way to involve herself in spiritual affairs.
Ascetically
- characterized by severe self-discipline and abstention from all forms of indulgence, typically for religious reasons: an ascetic life of prayer, fasting, and manual labour.
He was apparently a rather famous fortune-teller, but he lived very simply—even ascetically.
Emplacements
- A structure on or in which something is firmly placed: a machine bolted to a concrete emplacement.
"... Machine gun emplacements bristled like pincushions..."
Osmanthus
- A genus of about 30 species of flowering plants in the family Oleacea.
The row of osmanthus along the fence had been turned a ghastly white from a coating of insects’ eggs.
Taciturn
- (of a person) reserved or uncommunicative in speech; saying little: after such gatherings she would be taciturn and morose.
Kumiko became a difficult, taciturn child in these new surroundings.
Academe
- the academic environment or community; academia: bridging the gap between industry and academe.
His father expected him to enter the government or a major corporation upon graduation from the university, but Noboru Wataya chose to remain in academe and become a scholar.
Sartorial
- relating to tailoring, clothes, or style of dress: sartorial elegance.
He was just a college instructor at the time, long before he had written his book and long before his sartorial conversion.
Idiosyncratic
- relating to idiosyncrasy; peculiar or individual: she emerged as one of the great, idiosyncratic talents of the nineties
Practical and businesslike, her outfit had nothing idiosyncratic about it: a white blouse, a green tight skirt, and no accessories to speak of.
Unremitting
- never relaxing or slackening; incessant: unremitting drizzle.
"... I had endured the pain for twenty years. My life had been nothing but an unremitting source of pain..."
Constituency
- a group of voters in a specified area who elect a representative to a legislative body: most politicians are more interested in the voice of their constituency
The death had long been anticipated, of course, and a general election was expected shortly, so the uncle’s supporters lost no time in formalizing their earlier plan to have Noboru Wataya inherit the constituency.
Laudable
- (of an action, idea, or aim) deserving praise and commendation: laudable though the aim might be, the results have been criticized.
"That is a most laudable intention, but Mr. Honda’s home—and now his grave—are in Asahikawa, Hokkaido..."
Kraft
- a kind of strong, smooth brown wrapping paper.
A package emerged, shaped like a small box of candy. It was wrapped in kraft paper and tightly tied in several loops of string.
Carousing
- the activity of drinking alcohol and enjoying oneself with others in a noisy, lively way: a night of carousing.
We’d go out drinking and carousing every night, and we’d visit the cafés that had the White Russian girls.
Steppe
- a large area of flat unforested grassland in south-eastern Europe or Siberia.
On that vast steppe, with nothing but low sand dunes to shield our presence as far as the eye could see, the least puff of smoke would have led to our immediate capture.
Locus
- a particular position or place where something occurs or is situated; the effective or perceived location of something abstract: the real locus of power is the informal council.
"It is entirely natural for you, as an officer with men under your command, to consider the locus of responsibility in such a matter..."
Mauser
- a make of firearm, especially a repeating rifle or semi-automatic pistol: [as modifier] : a Mauser rifle.
He had a Soviet-made rifle strapped to his back and a Mauser at his waist.
Fomented
- instigate or stir up (an undesirable or violent sentiment or course of action): they accused him of fomenting political unrest.
It did have an anti-Soviet faction, though, as everyone knew, and through secret contacts with the Japanese Army in Manchukuo, members of that faction had fomented a number of uprisings.
Heartrending
- causing great sadness or distress: a heart-rending story.
I could hear his heartrending screams.
Tacit
- understood or implied without being stated: your silence may be taken to mean tacit agreement.
We had a kind of tacit understanding about breakfast: it was almost a ritual for us.
Viscid
- having a glutinous or sticky consistency: the viscid mucus lining of the intestine.
Under these special circumstances, I believe, my consciousness had attained such a viscid state of concentration that when the intense beam of light shone down for those few seconds, I was able to descend directly into a place that might be called the very core of my own consciousness.
Maelstrom
- a powerful whirlpool in the sea or a river; a situation or state of confused movement or violent turmoil: the train station was a maelstrom of crowds.
As a person who finds himself in such a position, I have come to think that life is afar more limited thing than those in the midst of its maelstrom realize.
The Genuine Article
- a person or thing considered to be an authentic and excellent example of their kind.
All around me were the unmistakable signs of summer—the genuine article, without reservations or conditions.
Perfunctory
- (of an action) carried out without real interest, feeling, or effort: he gave a perfunctory nod.
He shifted the tray to his left hand, checked the room number, drew himself up, and gave the door a perfunctory knock.
Corpulent
- (of a person) fat: a short, somewhat corpulent man.
All that hung in the sky was a nearly full, corpulent moon.
Irrevocable
- not able to be changed, reversed, or recovered; final: an irrevocable step.
If what she said in the letter was the irrevocable truth, however, I would probably never sleep with Kumiko again.
Physiognomy
- a person’s facial features or expression, especially when regarded as indicative of character or ethnic origin; the general form or appearance of something: the physiognomy of the landscape.
The Wataya family was into this kind of stuff—divination and house “physiognomy” and such.
Vise
- a metal tool with movable jaws which are used to hold an object firmly in place while work is done on it, typically attached to a workbench: hold the rail in the vice | Evelyn’s fingers were like a vice.
If I tried to think seriously about anything, I felt a dull ache in my head, as if it were being squeezed in the jaws of a padded vise.
Stanch
- stop or restrict (a flow of blood) from a wound: he staunched the blood with whatever came to hand | figurative : the company did nothing to staunch the tide of rumours.
"... I knew that I should not let this happen, that I should not allow my very self to spill out this way and be lost forever, but there was nothing I could do to stanch the flow..."
Yoke
- a wooden crosspiece that is fastened over the necks of two animals and attached to the plough or cart that they are to pull; used to refer to something regarded as oppressive or restrictive: the yoke of imperialism.
"... My second self had been the one that lived in a state of pain-free numbness. The first one had been me in my original state, unable to release the heavy yoke of pain from my neck..."
Aloft
- up in or into the air; overhead: the congregation sways, hands aloft | she held her glass aloft.
He pulled the knife from its sheath and held it aloft.
Spigot
- a small peg or plug, especially for insertion into the vent of a cask; a tap, or a device for controlling the flow of liquid in a tap.
I reached behind the bushes and turned on the spigot.
Haranguing
- lecture (someone) at length in an aggressive and critical manner: he harangued the public on their ignorance.
To make matters worse, some homeless guy came over to me after I had been there for a while and started haranguing me about something.
Inscrutable
- Impossible to understand or interpret: Guy looked blankly inscrutable.
I had just a few too many women around me these days. And each one came packaged with her own special, inscrutable problem.
Abeyance
- a state of temporary disuse or suspension; the position of being without, or of waiting for, an owner or claimant: matters were held in abeyance pending further enquiries.
Miyawaki lost the house, which he had put up as collateral, in the fall of 1983, but squabbling among his creditors with regard to the order of reimbursement kept final disposal of it in abeyance until a court-mediated settlement last summer, which opened the way for sale of the land.
Suffused
- gradually spread through or over: her cheeks were suffused with colour | the first half of the poem is suffused with idealism.
The cage’s concrete floor was suffused with the piercing smell of the big cats’ urine, and mixed with it was the warm odor of blood.
Prattled
- talk at length in a foolish or inconsequential way: she began to prattle onabout her visit to the dentist.
I kept silent as he prattled on.
Honoraria
- payments given for professional services that are rendered nominally without charge.
Honoraria were paid on the spot, in cash, their size having been determined by the department store owner’s wife—at a level much higher than Nutmeg would have imagined, though this never became an obstacle.
Retrogression
- the process of returning to an earlier state, typically a worse one: a retrogression to 19th-century attitudes.
There was no progress, no retrogression, only the gradual aging of everyone involved.
Iron Maiden
- (in historical contexts) an instrument of torture consisting of a coffin-shaped box lined with iron spikes.
“No, that wouldn’t work. Your transmissions might reach here, but transmissions from here wouldn’t reach there. The problem is the password—the open sesame. Without that, there’s nothing we can do. The door won’t open for the wolf, no matter how hard he tries to disguise his voice. He can knock and say, ‘Hi, it’s me, your friend Rabbit,’ but if he hasn’t got the password, he gets turned away at the door. We’re talking about an iron maiden here."
Straitened
- characterized by poverty: they lived in straitened circumstances.
They still had their comfortable house and land, but it was not a pleasant place for Nutmeg and her mother to live as extra mouths to feed during those straitened postwar years.
Clotheshorse
- a person who is excessively concerned with wearing fashionable clothes.
Her mother was a genuine clotheshorse.
Abscond
- leave hurriedly and secretly, typically to escape from custody or avoid arrest: the barman absconded with a week’s takings | 176 detainees absconded.
Their debts mounted up so greatly that at one point it seemed the only solution would be to abscond.
Effeminate
- (of a man) having characteristics regarded as typical of a woman; unmanly: he lisps and his handshake is effeminate.
Most other Japanese officers dismissed logistics as an “effeminate” discipline, believing instead that the proper “Way” for “his majesty’s warriors” was to fight with bold self-abandonment no matter how ill-equipped one might be; that true martial glory lay in conquering a mighty foe when outnumbered and poorly armed.
Erudition
- the quality of having or showing great knowledge or learning; scholarship: he was known for his wit, erudition, and teaching skills.
No other officer in the Imperial Army at that time had Ishiwara’s combination of a profound interest in logistics and great erudition.
Ventilator
- an appliance or aperture for ventilating a room or other space.
The smoke of her cigarette rose straight up like an Indian fakir’s magic rope, to be sucked in by the ceiling ventilator
Implacable
- unable to be appeased or placated; unable to be stopped; relentless: the implacable advance of the enemy.
And yet, at the same time, he could not help feeling a certain strange joy at being left alone in this empty official residence; now he was able to sense the implacable power of fate in his very bones and flesh.
Fatalist
- one who believes that all events are predetermined and therefore inevitable: many have an almost fatalistic attitude towards their own health | he gives a fatalistic shrug at the bleak future.
He was certainly no “fatalist,” as most people use the word.
Titular
- holding or constituting a purely formal position or title without any real authority: the queen is titular head of the Church of England | a titular post.
He felt like a titular head of state who did nothing more than impress the royal seal on documents at the behest of a regent who wielded all true power in the realm—like the emperor of this puppet empire of Manchukuo.
Behest
- a person’s orders or command: they had assembled at his behest.
He felt like a titular head of state who did nothing more than impress the royal seal on documents at the behest of a regent who wielded all true power in the realm—like the emperor of this puppet empire of Manchukuo.
Regent
- a person appointed to administer a state because the monarch is a minor or is absent or incapacitated.
He felt like a titular head of state who did nothing more than impress the royal seal on documents at the behest of a regent who wielded all true power in the realm—like the emperor of this puppet empire of Manchukuo.
Commandeer
- officially take possession or control of (something), especially for military purposes: a nearby house had been commandeered by the army.
The lieutenant nodded and announced that he would immediately commandeer the mule and wagon, as per orders of Kwantung Army Headquarters.
Interjected
- say (something) abruptly, especially as an aside or interruption: she interjected the odd question here and there | [no object] : Christina felt bound to interject before there was open warfare.
“Wait just a minute,” the veterinarian interjected.
Bivouac
- a temporary camp without tents or cover, used especially by soldiers or mountaineers; to stay in a bivouac: we bivouacked on the north side of the town.
“We’re going to bivouac here for a while,” he said, kneeling down and scooping up a handful of dirt.
Conjunction
- the action or an instance of two or more events or things occurring at the same point in time or space: a conjunction of favourable political and economic circumstances | he postulated that the Americas were formed by the conjunction of floating islands.
Nutmeg almost certainly did not know at that time that I had been given the name “Mr. Wind-Up Bird.” Which meant that I was connected with their story through some chance conjunction.
Punctilious
- showing great attention to detail or correct behaviour: he was punctilious in providing every amenity for his guests.
There was a kind of warmth to Cinnamon’s punctilious regularity, something beyond mere mechanical predictability, something that gave me comfort and encouragement.
Functionary
- a person who has to perform official functions or duties; an official.
The top man was said to be from Stalin’s own hometown, a cold, hard party functionary still young and full of ambition.
Dusky
- darkish in colour: dusky red | a dusky complexion.
Besides the Russians, the trains would bring Poles, Hungarians, and other foreigners, some with dusky skins (Armenians and Kurds, I should imagine).
Kangaroo Courts
- an unofficial court held by a group of people in order to try someone regarded, especially without good evidence, as guilty of a crime or misdemeanour: they conducted a kangaroo court there and then.
Stripped of their positions, such men would be tried in kangaroo courts and either summarily executed or sent to the concentration camps, though finally which group was the more fortunate only a god could say.
Patter
- rapid continuous talk, such as that used by a comedian or salesperson: take a friend with you to deflect the sales patter.
We had to snatch opportunities to enjoy this professional patter in their absence.
Rapture
- a feeling of intense pleasure or joy: Leonora listened with rapture.
A sense of calm envelops me, a feeling close to rapture.
Cunning
- having or showing skill in achieving one’s ends by deceit or evasion; ingenious: a cunning look came into his eyes | plants have evolved cunning defences.
He had read in his encyclopedia that most nocturnal birds were cunning and cautious. The bird probably knew that he was on the lookout for it.
Polemicist
- a person who engages in controversial debate: a brilliant polemicist with an independent critical mind | a passionate left-wing polemicist.
"... Widely hailed since then as an influential young politician and polemicist, Noboru Wataya was a freshman Diet member of whom much was expected..."
Drubbing
- a beating; a thrashing: I’ll give the scoundrels a drubbing if I can!
Perhaps the intense hatred inside me had taken the initiative to walk over there without my knowing it and administer him a drubbing.
Quell
- put an end to (a rebellion or other disorder), typically by the use of force; suppress (a feeling): extra police were called to quell the disturbance | she quelled an urge to race up the stairs.
The contractions of my heart began to speed up. I tried to quell the disturbance this caused, but without success.
Groundless
- not based on any good reason: your fears are quite groundless.
And I still harbored the groundless hope that things would not turn out so badly.
Debauched
- indulging in or characterized by excessive indulgence in sex, alcohol, or drugs; destroyed or debased the moral purity of; corrupt: he has debauched the morals of the people and endeavoured to corrupt parliament.
Inside me, of course, there was a self that wanted to escape, but at the same time there was a cowardly, debauched self that had given up all hope of ever being able to flee from there, and the first self could never dominate the second because I had been so defiled in mind and body.
As always, feel free to discuss in the comments below or reach out via the contact form. I’d love to hear from you!
If you enjoyed this post, please consider subscribing to my email list by clicking the button below: