Surprised by Awarding Dylan

Swedish Academy announced on Thursday that Nobel Prize in Literature 2016 would go to a legendary American folk singer and songwriter, Bob Dylan “for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition.” The Japanese were surprised twice. Can a musician be a laureate of Nobel Prize in Literature and why not Haruki Murakami this year? The answer is blowin’ in the wind.

Newspapers introduced Bob Dylan as born in Minnesota in 1941, started activities as a musician when he was in high school, retired University of Minnesota and moved to New York, and made his debut in the first album, Bob Dylan, with Columbia Records in 1962. “It has been a half of century since Mr. Dylan made himself a standardbearer of counter culture as a singer and songwriter of protest songs,” described Asahi Shimbun.

Polkadots in Ikebukuro, Tokyo, is known as Bob Dylan bar for his fans. “While we had meeting of some fans in this bar on the day of Nobel Prize in Literature these years, it was inattentive for us not to do that this year. Lyrics, voice and rhythm of Bob Dylan is a trinity in unity. I hope more people realize his goodness by this award,” told Chief Manager, Tokyo Bob, to the press.

Most people firstly did not know why he was awarded, and eventually understood it as reasonable. “By believing in music, he explored a realm that was not entered by other litterateurs. The listeners were not only attracted by his popular songs but thrilled with his interesting words of literature,” told a critic in music, Manabu Yuasa. CD shops in Tokyo abruptly began to display the works of Bob Dylan, expecting growing sales of albums of Dylan.

Some might be skeptical why it was Dylan among other great artists in American music. If a singer and songwriter can be awarded for Nobel Prize, how about Simon & Garfunkel, Neil Young or Stevie Wonder? Which will be the brighter, Nobel or Grammy, if musicians can always be the laureate of Nobel Prize next year or later? Current tendency of focusing on surprise may degrade Nobel Prize.

Japanese fans of Haruki Murakami were disappointed as usual. They gathered in some places related to the stories of Murakami’s novels, waiting for the happy news and enthusiasm for praising him. But, as long as traditional cause of Nobel Prize should have been awarding people who contributed to peace of the world, it is still strange for the Japanese keep on expecting to award Murakami, who is not clear about how he gave power peace.