What is the importance of names in the novel, The Wind-up Bird Chronicle?

Names play an integral part in this novel. Certain characters in the novel are known by very distinct aliases: for instance Creta Kano and Malta Kano. Other characters are known in the text by more than one name or no name at all such as Mr. Honda and Corporal Oiishi Honda or the anonymous woman on the telephone. In another example, Toru Okada makes up the name "wind-up bird" as part of his description of an extremely unique bird cry that he hears coming from behind his house one day (9). According to Toru, the wind-up bird is a bird that sounds as though it is winding the world's spring. The bird's call insinuates itself into several other characters' narratives as well. The young boy who dreams in "What Happened in the Night" hears it late one evening and he gets up out of bed (357). May Kasahara gives Toru and Kumiko the nickname "Mr. and Mrs. Wind-Up Bird." It is also the title of Cinnamon's computer chronicle. Through some inexplicable means, Nutmeg's son gives his creation Toru Okada's nickname. This provides a wonderful juxtaposition for Kumiko and Toru naming the cat Noboru Wataya, after Kumiko's brother even though the cat is later renamed Mackerel.