# Is "Dance Dance Dance" by Haruki Murakami a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Dance Dance Dance by Haruki Murakami (Kodansha International, 1994) is identified by: First edition in English, translated by Alfred Birnbaum. The Kodansha International edition of 1994 (New York/Tokyo) is the first edition in English; the UK edition (Hamish Hamilton, London) followed.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition in English, translated by Alfred Birnbaum
- Published by Kodansha International, New York/Tokyo (ISBN-10 4-7700-1683-2 / ISBN-13 978-4-7700-1683-6), roughly 393 pages
- First printing in black paper-covered boards over a black cloth spine stamped in yellow, with pink endpapers at the front and blue at the rear, and the dust-jacket illustration by Maki Sasaki (jacket design by Lorraine Louie); the true first carries no later-printing statement
- It is Murakami's sixth novel and a sequel to A Wild Sheep Chase
- Publisher imprint reads Kodansha International
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Haruki Murakami |
| Publisher | Kodansha International |
| Year | 1994 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition in English, translated by Alfred Birnbaum |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First edition in English, translated by Alfred Birnbaum. Published by Kodansha International, New York/Tokyo (ISBN-10 4-7700-1683-2 / ISBN-13 978-4-7700-1683-6), roughly 393 pages. First printing in black paper-covered boards over a black cloth spine stamped in yellow, with pink endpapers at the front and blue at the rear, and the dust-jacket illustration by Maki Sasaki (jacket design by Lorraine Louie); the true first carries no later-printing statement. It is Murakami's sixth novel and a sequel to A Wild Sheep Chase.

## Is this the true first?
The Kodansha International edition of 1994 (New York/Tokyo) is the first edition in English; the UK edition (Hamish Hamilton, London) followed. The Japanese original, Dansu dansu dansu, was published in 1988.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Vintage International paperbacks are reprints. Confirm the black Kodansha binding (yellow-stamped spine), the Maki Sasaki jacket, the 1994 date, and ISBN-10 4-7700-1683-2 (ISBN-13 978-4-7700-1683-6).

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Dance Dance Dance* by Haruki Murakami a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/dance-dance-dance
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-04.