Hayao Kawai was Minister of Culture for Japan and decorated as a ‘Person of Cultural Merit'. He originally studied mathematics, then trained to become a Jungian psychoanalyst and sandplay therapist in Zürich. Back in his native country, he went on to introduce Jung's psychology and sandplay therapy. Kawai became a well-known writer and television personality in Japan and also abroad; many of his works have been translated into other languages.

Haruki Murakami began to write at the age of 30 and blossomed into one of the premier writers of his generation. He has been awarded numerous honors in Japan as well as internationally, including the Franz Kafka Prize, the Jerusalem Prize and many others. He is known for his journalistic pieces, short stories and genre-defying novels, including The Wind-up Bird Chronicle, Norwegian Wood, A Wild Sheep Chase, Wind/Pinball and 1Q84.