1Q84

Inside the hotel suite bedroom, it is pitch black. As Aomame’s eyes adjust to the darkness, she sees a motionless mound on the bed which she only recognizes as a human body when it slowly sits up and begins to breathe heavily. The man in the bed tells Buzzcut to leave and requests that Aomame open the curtains. In the dim light, Aomame can see that Leader is around 50 years old and massively built, with long hair. She seethes at the thought of this man raping ten-year-old girls.

In an even voice, Leader tells Aomame that his body “has many special things about it” (419). In addition to a sensitivity to light, Leader’s muscles frequently go stiff for hours to the point of total immobility. When this happens, he experiences a sustained erection for the duration of the episode. With a candor that Aomame finds shocking, Leader adds that three teenage girls called shrine maidens take turns having sex with him when this happens, bringing him no sexual pleasure but causing him to ejaculate. He explains: “It is thought that these paralyses of mine are a form of grace bestowed by heaven [.