Note: The Japanese title of this novel, 色彩を持たない多崎つくると、彼の巡礼の年, is transcribed as Shikisai o motanai Tasaki Tsukuru to, kare no junrei no toshi in the Revised Hepburn notation, and means "Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage". It is composed of 色彩を持たない, shikisai o motanai, "without colour, colourless", 多崎, Tasaki, a family name, つくる, Tsukuru, a given name that sounds like the word for "to make", "to build", と, to, "and", 彼, kare, "he", "him", の, no, "of", 巡礼, junrei, "pilgrimage", の, no, "of" and 年, toshi, "year(s)" (thus, literally, "years-of-pilgrimage-of-him"). The use of the phrase 色彩を持たない "colourless" is a joking allusion to the fact that the character's family name contains no kanji (ideogram) for "colour".