Kafka on the Shore Study Guide

Humans

• Kafka Tamura : The character's true given name is never revealed to the reader. After having run away from home, he chooses the new name "Kafka", in honor of writer Franz Kafka. Kafka is described as being muscular for his age and a "cool, tall, fifteen-year-old boy lugging a backpack and a bunch of obsessions" . He's also the son of the famous sculptor Koichi Tamura. His mother and sister left the family when he was four years old and he can't remember their faces. He occasionally interacts with his metaphysical alter ego "The boy named Crow" ("Kafka" sounds like "kavka", which means "jackdaw", a crow-like bird, in Czech). Crow tells Kafka throughout the novel that he must be "the toughest fifteen-year-old in the world" and thus motivates him to pursue the journey of running away from home. It is heavily suggested throughout the novel that he, Miss Saeki, and Nakata are somehow connected by an 'alternate reality' on which metaphysical objects from people's subconsciousness takes form leading them to find an 'essence' to their lives in exchange for taking away a 'part' of their soul.
• Satoru Nakata : Nakata lost many of his mental faculties when he was a kid, as one of sixteen schoolchildren out on a mushroom-gathering field-trip toward the end of World War II, he was rendered unconscious following a mysterious flash of light in the sky - although it is later revealed that the light wasn't the main cause of the incident. This incident is referred to in the novel as the "Rice Bowl Hill incident". Unlike the other children, who regained their consciousness shortly after, Nakata remained unconscious for many weeks, and, upon finally awakening, found that his memory and his ability to read had disappeared, as well as his higher intellectual functions (i.e. abstract thinking), essentially making him a "blank slate". In their place, Nakata found he was able to communicate with cats. It is hinted that Nakata and Miss Saeki has been through the 'alternate reality' before and it's where they left a 'part' of their 'soul' leading to their shadows being irregular compared to normal people's shadows.
• Oshima : A 21-year-old, intellectual, haemophiliac, and gay transgender man. He is a librarian and an owner of a cabin in the mountains near Komura Memorial Library who becomes close to Kafka throughout the course of the novel. He becomes the mentor of Kafka as he guides Kafka to the answers that he's seeking in his journey.
• Hoshino : A truck driver in his mid-twenties. He befriends Nakata, due to his resemblance to his own grandfather, and transports and assists Nakata towards his uncertain goal.
• Miss Saeki : The manager of a private library, where Oshima works and where Kafka lives through much of the novel. She was previously a singer, and performed the song "Kafka on the Shore", which unites many of the novel's themes. Although her outward appearance makes her look normal, she suffers from an existential crisis after the death of her boyfriend. She journeyed to the 'alternate reality' when she was 15 years old due to her strong desire to keep her happiness forever, eventually discovering the 'essence' used to compose "Kafka on the Shore". However it led to that version of herself 'separating' from her. It is heavily hinted towards the end of the novel that she's Kafka's mother.
• Sakura : A young woman whom Kafka meets on the bus by chance. She assists him later in his journey. It is vaguely hinted throughout the novel that she might be Kafka's sister.
• Johnnie Walker : A cat killer who plans to make a flute out of cats' souls. His name is taken from Johnnie Walker, a brand of Scotch whisky, and he dresses to appear like the man featured in the brand's logo. However, he is in fact an 'abstract concept' - an object used only to fulfill the desires of a person that has been to/connected by the 'alternate reality'. In this case, he was used to fulfill Kafka's desire to murder his father although with Nakata committing the act.
• Colonel Sanders : An 'abstract concept' who takes the form of a pimp or hustler. He is named after, and appears similar to, Harland Sanders, the founder and face of Kentucky Fried Chicken. He helps Hoshino to find the 'entrance stone' to the 'alternate reality' and influences Hoshino to a great extent.

Cats

• Goma : A lost cat owned by Mrs. Koizumi.
• Otsuka : An elderly black cat who Nakata easily communicates with.
• Kawamura : A cat who was addled after being hit by a bicycle. Though they can communicate, Nakata is unable to understand Kawamura's repetitive and strange sentences.
• Mimi : An intelligent Siamese cat.
• Okawa : A tabby cat.
• Toro : A black cat that temporarily became an 'abstract concept'.