He had even lost the ability to read or write, skills he never regained. Finally, Nakata, too, woke up on his own, but unlike the other children, he had lost his memory entirely. Interviews with doctors and psychologists show that Nakata’s case baffled them. All the children woke up except for one: Satoru Nakata, a studious young boy who had been evacuated from Tokyo to the countryside, remained in a coma for weeks. Soon, the children began to wake up on their own, apparently fine and without any memory of the incident. Setsuko ran to get help, but a local doctor found himself completely at a loss. The children were unconscious, but their eyes moved back and forth rapidly, almost as if their minds were experiencing something independently of their bodies. Setsuko Okamochi, an elementary school teacher in the countryside, took a group of children to look for mushrooms on a hill. Army documents from World War II tell the story of a mysterious incident.

Over the next week, Kafka falls into a lonely routine, spending mornings at the gym and afternoons reading in the library. Kafka is struck by the thought that she could be his mother. Kafka, unsure of what to do, visits the Komura Memorial library, where he meets Oshima, a well-dressed young librarian, and Miss Saeki, an extremely elegant, middle-aged woman who runs the library. When they arrive in the town of Takamatsu, Sakura gives Kafka her phone number. They both agree that chance encounters are important, and possibly even the result of fate. He is attracted to her, but he worries, as he does with all women Sakura’s age, that she could be his long-lost sister. At a rest stop on the journey, Kafka meets a girl named Sakura, who is a few years older than him. With only a backpack of possessions, Kafka gets on a bus bound for Shikoku in Western Japan. But he fears that no matter how far he runs, he will never be able to escape a dark omen that follows him everywhere. Kafka has spent years building up his physical and mental strength, training to be able to escape his cruel father and survive as a runaway. Both his older sister and his mother left the family when Kafka was just four, so this is the only memory he has of them. Feeling as if he is preparing for a journey that will change him forever, Kafka packs a knife, some money, and a picture of himself and his older sister on the beach from when Kafka was young. Crow (an imagined persona whom Kafka consults for advice when he finds himself in stressful situations) advises Kafka to be tough and strong.

Kafka has decided that he will run away from his home in Tokyo on his fifteenth birthday.

Kafka on the shore