# Ryū Murakami

Ryū Murakami (村上 龍, Murakami Ryū, born February 19, 1952) is a Japanese novelist, essayist and filmmaker. His novels explore human nature through themes of disillusion, drug use, surrealism, murder and war, set against the dark backdrop of Japan. His best known novels are Almost Transparent Blue, Audition, Coin Locker Babies, and In the Miso Soup.

## Biography

Murakami was born Ryūnosuke Murakami (村上龍之助, Murakami Ryūnosuke) in Sasebo, Nagasaki on 19 February 1952. The name Ryūnosuke was taken from the protagonist in Daibosatsu-tōge, a work of fiction by Kaisan Nakazato [ja].
Murakami attended school in Sasebo. While a student in senior high, he joined in forming a rock band called Coelacanth, as the drummer. In the summer of his third year in senior high, Murakami and his fellow students barricaded the rooftop of his high school and he was placed under house arrest for three months. During this time, he had an encounter with hippie culture, which had a strong influence on him.
After graduating from high school in 1970, Murakami formed another rock band and produced some 8-millimeter indie films. He enrolled in the silkscreen department at Gendaishichosha School of Art in Tokyo, but dropped out in the first year. In October 1972, he moved to Fussa, Tokyo and was accepted for the sculpture program at Musashino Art University. He married his wife, a keyboard player, in the 1970s and their son was born in 1980. In the early 1990s, Murakami devoted himself to disseminating Cuban music in Japan and established a label, Murakami's, within Sony Music.
Murakami started the e-magazine JMM (Japan Mail Media) in 1999 and still serves as its chief editor. Since 2006, he has also hosted a talk show on business and finance called Kanburia Kyuden, broadcast on TV Tokyo. The co-host is Eiko Koike. In the same year, he began a video streaming service, RVR (Ryu's Video Report). In 2010, he established a company, G2010 [ja], to sell and produce eBooks.

## Works

Murakami's first work was the short novel Almost Transparent Blue, written while he was still a university student. It deals with promiscuity and drug use among disaffected youth. Critically acclaimed as a new style of literature, it won the Gunzo Prize for New Writers in 1976, despite some objections on the grounds of decadence. Later the same year, his Blue won the Akutagawa Prize, going on to become a bestseller.
In 1980, Murakami published a much longer novel, Coin Locker Babies, again to critical acclaim, and won the 3rd Noma Liberal Arts New Member Prize. Next came the autobiographical novel 69, and then Ai to Gensō no Fascism (1987), revolving around the struggle to reform Japan's survival-of-the-fittest society with a secret "Hunting Society". His work Topaz (1988) concerns a sado-masochistic woman's radical expression of her sexuality.
Murakami's The World in Five Minutes From Now (1994) is written as a point of view in a parallel universe version of Japan, and was nominated for the 30th Tanizaki Prize. In 1996 he continued his autobiography 69, and released the Murakami Ryū Movie and Novel Collection. He also won the Taiko Hirabayashi Prize. The same year, he wrote the novel Topaz II about a female high school student engaged in "compensated dating", which later was adapted as the live-action film Love & Pop by anime director Hideaki Anno. His Popular Hits of the Showa Era concerns the escalating firepower in a battle between five teenage male and five middle-aged female social rejects. Literary scholar Barbara Greene suggests that the text reveals how "the invisible violence of post-Bubble Japan’s social order is made explicit through a low-stakes, yet hyperviolent, guerilla war undertaken by a set of ludicrous and narcissistic characters whose increasingly deadly attacks are met with public indifference. Within the consumer-capitalist social order, personal satisfaction is the paramount goal..."
In 1997 came the psychological thriller novel In the Miso Soup, set in Tokyo's Kabuki-cho red-light district, which won him the Yomiuri Prize for Fiction that year. Parasites (Kyōsei chū, 2000) is about a young hikikomori fascinated by war. It won him the 36th Tanizaki Prize. The same year Exodus From Hopeless Japan (Kibō no Kuni no Exodus) told of junior high school students who lose their desire to be involved in normal Japanese society and instead create a new one over the internet.
In 2001, Murakami became involved in his friend Ryuichi Sakamoto's group NML No More Landmines, which sets out to remove landmines from former battle sites around the world.
In 2004, Murakami announced the publication of 13 Year Old Hello Work, aimed at increasing interest in young people who are entering the workforce. Hantō wo Deyo (2005) is about an invasion of Japan by North Korea. It won him the Noma Liberal Arts Prize and Mainichi Shuppan Culture Award [ja].
The novel Audition was made into a feature film by Takashi Miike. Murakami reportedly liked it so much he gave Miike his blessing to adapt Coin Locker Babies. The screenplay for the latter was worked on by director Jordan Galland but Miike failed to raise enough funding for it. An adaptation directed by Michele Civetta is currently in production.
In 2011, Utau Kujira won the Mainichi Art Award [ja].

## Selected bibliography
### Novels

| Year | Japanese Title | English Title | Notes |
| 1976 | Kagirinaku Tōmei ni Chikai Burū (限りなく透明に近いブルー) | Almost Transparent Blue | English translation by Nancy Andrew |
| 1977 | Umi no Mukō de Sensō ga Hajimaru (海の向こうで戦争が始まる) | War Begins Beyond the Sea | French translation by Claude Okamoto |
| 1980 | Koinrokkā Beibīzu (コインロッカー・ベイビーズ) | Coin Locker Babies | English translation by Stephen Snyder, republished by Pushkin Press, 2013 |
| 1983 | Daijōbu mai furendo (だいじょうぶマイ・フレンド) | All Right, My Friend | |
| 1985 | Tenisu Bōi no Yūutsu (テニスボーイの憂鬱) | Melancholy of Tennis Boy | |
| 1987 | 69 Shikusuti Nain | 69 | English translation by Ralph F. McCarthy, published by Pushkin Press, 2013 |
| 1987 | Ai to Gensō no Fasizumu (愛と幻想のファシズム) | Fascism of Love and Fantasy | |
| 1989 | Raffuruzu Hoteru (ラッフルズホテル) | Raffles Hotel | |
| 1991 | Kokkusakkā Burūsu (コックサッカーブルース) | Cocksucker Blues |
| 1991 | Chōdendō Naito Kurabu (超電導ナイトクラブ) | Superconduction Nightclub | |
| 1992 | Ibisa (イビサ) | Ibiza | |
| 1992 | Nagasaki Oranda Mura (長崎オランダ村) | Nagasaki Holland Village | |
| 1993 | Ekusutashī (エクスタシー) | Ecstasy | |
| 1993 | Fijī no Kobito (フィジーの小人) | Fijian Midget | |
| 1993 | Sanbyakurokujūhachi Yādo Pā Fō Dai Ni Da (368Y Par4 第2打) | 368Y Par4 the 2nd shot | |
| 1993 | Ongaku no Kaigan (音楽の海岸) | The seashore of the music | |
| 1994 | Shōwa Kayō Daizenshū (昭和歌謡大全集) | Popular Hits of the Showa Era: A Novel | English translation by Ralph F. McCarthy. Published by Pushkin Press, 2013 |
| 1994 | Gofungo no Sekai (五分後の世界) | The World in Five Minutes From Now | |
| 1994 | Piasshingu (ピアッシング) | Piercing | English translation by Ralph F. McCarthy. Published in English January 2007. |
| 1995 | KYOKO | Kyoko | French translation by Corinne Atlan |
| 1996 | Hūga Uirusu Gofungo no Sekai Tū (ヒュウガ・ウイルス 五分後の世界II) | Hūga Virus: The World in Five Minutes From Now II | |
| 1996 | Merankoria (メランコリア) | Melancholia | French translation by Sylvain Cardonnel |
| 1996 | Rabu ando Poppu Topāzu Tū (ラブ&ポップ トパーズII) | Love & Pop: Topaz II | |
| 1997 | Ōdishon (オーディション) | Audition | English translation by Ralph McCarthy. Spanish translation by J.C. Cortés. |
| 1997 | Sutorenji Deizu (ストレンジ・デイズ) | Strange Days | |
| 1997 | In za Misosūpu (イン ザ・ミソスープ) | In the Miso Soup | English translation by Ralph F. McCarthy. Published in English 2005. |
| 1997 | In za Misosūpu (イン ザ・ミソスープ) | In the Miso Soup | French translation ("Miso Soup") by Corinne Atlan. Published in French January 2003. |
| 1998 | Rain (ライン) | Lines | French translation ("Lignes") by Sylvain Cardonnel, Czech translation ("Čáry") by Jan Levora. |
| 2000 | Kyōsei Chū (共生虫) | Parasites | French translation by Sylvain Cardonnel |
| 2000 | Kibō no Kuni no Ekusodasu (希望の国のエクソダス) | Exodus of the country of hope | |
| 2001 | Tanatosu (タナトス) | Thanatos | |
| 2001 | THE MASK CLUB | The Mask Club | |
| 2001 | Saigo no Kazoku (最後の家族) | The Last Family | |
| 2005 | Hantō o Deyo (半島を出よ) | From the Fatherland, with Love | Translated into English by Ralph McCarthy, Charles De Wolf and Ginny Tapley Takemori, published by Pushkin Press, 2013 |
| 2010 | 歌うクジラ | A Singing Whale | |
| 2011 | Kokoro wa Anata no Motoni (心はあなたのもとに) | My Love is Beneath You | |
| 2015 | Ōrudo Terorisuto (オールド・テロリスト) | Old Terrorist | |

### Short story collections

| Year | Japanese Title | English Title | Notes |
| 1984 | Kanashiki Nettai (悲しき熱帯) | Tropical Sad | reissued under the new title of "Summer in the city" in 1988. |
| 1986 | Posuto Poppu Āto no aru Heya (POST ポップアートのある部屋) | POST, Room with Pop Art | |
| 1986 | Hashire! Takahashi (走れ！タカハシ) | Run! Takahashi | a series of novels about one baseball player |
| 1986 | ニューヨーク・シティ・マラソン | New York City Marathon | |
| 1988 | Topāzu (トパーズ) | Topaz | |
| 1988 | Murakami Ryū Ryōri Shōsetsushū (村上龍料理小説集) | The collection of the Ryū Murakami dish novels | |
| 1991 | Koi wa itsumo Michina mono (恋はいつも未知なもの) | Love is always strange | |
| 1995 | Murakami Ryū Eiga Shōsetsushū (村上龍映画小説集) | The collection of the Ryū Murakami movie novels | |
| 1996 | Monika – Ongakuka no Yume Shōsetsuka no Monogatari (モニカ-音楽家の夢・小説家の物語) | Monica - Dream of a musician, story of a novelist | Joint work with Ryuichi Sakamoto |
| 1997 | Hakuchō (白鳥) | Swan | |
| 1998 | Wain Ippai dake no Shinjitsu (ワイン一杯だけの真実) | Truth of a cup of wine | |
| 2003 | Tōku Hanarete Soba ni ite (とおくはなれてそばにいて) | | |
| 2003 | Dokonidemo aru Basho Dokonimo inai Watashi (どこにでもある場所どこにもいないわたし) | | renamed to Kūkō nite (空港にて, at the airport) in the paperback edition |
| 2007 | Tokkenteki Jōjin Bishoku Murakami Ryū Ryōri & Kannō Shōsetsushū (特権的情人美食 村上龍料理&官能小説集) | The privileged mistress gastronomy: The collection of Ryū Murakami dish & sensuality novels | |
| 2012 | Gojūgo-sai kara no Harōraifu (55歳からのハローライフ) | Hello Life from 55 years old | |
| 2016 | | Tokyo Decadence: 15 Stories | A collection of stories from several of Murakami's story collections, translated by Ralph McCarthy. Spanish translation by J.C. Cortés |

### English short stories

| Year | English Title | Notes |
| 2004 | It's Been Just a Year and a Half Now Since I Went with My Boss to That Bar | short story published in Zoetrope: All-Story (Vol. 8, No. 4, 2004). English translation by Ralph McCarthy. |
| 2005 | I am a Novelist | short story published in The New Yorker (Jan. 3, 2005). English translation by Ralph McCarthy |
| 2009 | At the Airport | short story in Zoetrope All-Story (Vol. 13, No. 2, 2009). English translation by Ralph McCarthy. |
| 2010 | No Matter How Many Times I Read Your Confession, There's One Thing I Just Don't Understand: Why Didn't You Kill the Woman? | Zoetrope All-Story (Vol. 14, No. 4, 2010). |
| 2011 | Penlight | Zoetrope All-Story (Vol. 15, No. 3, 2011). English translation by Ralph McCarthy. |

### Non-fiction and essays

| Year | Japanese Title | English Title | Notes |
| 1985 | Amerikan Dorīmu (アメリカン★ドリーム) | American Dream | |
| 1987 | Subete no Otoko wa Shōmōhin de aru (すべての男は消耗品である。) | Every Man is a Consumable | Vol.1–11 (1987–2010) |
| 1991 | Murakami Ryū zen essei 1976-1981 (村上龍全エッセイ 1976-1981) | All the Ryū Murakami essays 1976-1981 | |
| 1991 | Murakami Ryū zen essei 1982-1986 (村上龍全エッセイ 1982-1986) | All the Ryū Murakami essays 1982-1986 | |
| 1991 | Murakami Ryū zen essei 1987-1991 (村上龍全エッセイ 1987-1991) | All the Ryū Murakami essays 1987-1991 | |
| 1992 | Ryū gen higo (龍言飛語) | | |
| 1993 | "Futsū no onna no ko" to shite sonzaishitakunai anata e. (「普通の女の子」として存在したくないあなたへ。) | To you who don't want to exist as "an ordinary girl." | |
| 1996 | Anata ga inakunatta ato no Tōkyō monogatari (あなたがいなくなった後の東京物語) | Tokyo Story after you go away | |
| 1998 | Samishī koku no satsujin (寂しい国の殺人) | Murder in a lonely country | |
| 1998 | Fijikaru intenshiti (フィジカル・インテンシティ) | Physical Intensity | Vol.1-5 (1998–2002) |
| 1999 | Samishī koku kara haruka wārudo sakkā e (寂しい国から遥かなるワールドサッカーへ) | From the Lonely country to far-off world soccer | |
| 2000 | Dare ni demo de kiru renai (誰にでもできる恋愛) | The love that anyone can do | |
| 2001 | Dame na onna (ダメな女) | Useless Woman | |
| 2002 | Damesarenai tameni, watashi wa keizai manda Murakami Ryū Weekly Report (だまされないために、わたしは経済を学んだ 村上龍weekly report) | I studied economics so as not to be deceived: Ryū Murakami weekly report | |
| 2002 | Renai no Kakusa (恋愛の格差) | Involuntary celibacy | |
| 2002 | Makuro Nihon keizai kara mikuro anata jishin e Murakami Ryū Weekly Report (マクロ・日本経済からミクロ・あなた自身へ 村上龍weekly report) | From macro, Japanese economy to micro, yourself: Ryū Murakami weekly report | |
| 2003 | Jisatsu yori wa SEX Murakami Ryū no Renai Jōsei ron (自殺よりはSEX 村上龍の恋愛・女性論) | SEX is better than Suicide: Ryū Murakami's theory of love and woman | |
| 2006 | Watashi wa amaete iru no deshō ka? 27 sai OL (わたしは甘えているのでしょうか？27歳・OL) | Am I spoiling myself? 27 years old, female office worker | |
| 2006 | Murakami Ryū bungaku teki essei shū (村上龍文学的エッセイ集) | The collection of Ryū Murakami literary essays | |
| 2007 | Angai, kaimono suki (案外、買い物好き) | Unexpectedly, I'm a shopping lover | |
| 2008 | Sore de mo watashi wa koi ga shitai kōfuku ni naritai okane mo hoshī (それでもわたしは、恋がしたい　幸福になりたい　お金も欲しい) | Still I want to love, want to be happy, and also want money | |
| 2009 | Mushumi no susume (無趣味のすすめ) | Encouragement of having no hobby | |
| 2010 | Nigeru chuukōnen, yokubō no nai wakamonotachi (逃げる中高年、欲望のない若者たち) | Old and middle age who run away, youths with few wants | |
| 2012 | Sakura no ki no shita niwa gareki ga uzumatte iru. (櫻の樹の下には瓦礫が埋まっている) | Debris is buried under the cherry tree. | |

### Interviews and letters

| Year | Japanese Title | English Title | Notes |
| 1977 | 中上健次vs村上龍 俺たちの船は、動かぬ霧の中を、纜を解いて | Kenji Nakagami vs Ryū Murakami: Our ship unmoors in a stagnant fog | with Kenji Nakagami |
| 1981 | ウォーク・ドント・ラン 村上龍VS村上春樹 Wōku donto ran Murakami Ryū vs Murakami Haruki | Walk, Don't Run: Ryū Murakami vs Haruki Murakami | with Haruki Murakami |
| 1985 | EV.Cafe 超進化論 | EV.Cafe ultra-Darwinism | with Ryuichi Sakamoto |
| 1992 | 友よ、また逢おう | See you, my friend | Ryū Murakami = Ryuichi Sakamoto letters |
| 1994 | 村上龍＋椹木野衣 最新対論 神は細部に宿る | Ryū Murakami + Noi Sawaragi Latest Discussion: God is in the details | with Noi Sawaragi |
| 1999 | 村上龍対談集　存在の耐えがたきサルサ | Ryū Murakami interview collection: The Unbearable Salsa of Being | |
| 2006 | 「個」を見つめるダイアローグ　村上壟X伊藤穣一 | Dialogue to stare at "individual": Ryū Murakami X Joichi Ito | |

### Picture book

| Year | Japanese Title | English Title | Notes |
| 1983 | 絵本 だいじょうぶマイ・フレンド | Picture book: All Right, My Friend | Illustrator: Katsu Yoshida |
| 1989 | 友達のラ リ ル レ ロ | | Illustrator: Sumako Yasui |
| 1996 | 絵物語・永遠の一瞬 すてきなジェニファー | Wonderful Jennifer | Illustrator: Yoko Yamamoto |
| 1999 | あの金で何が買えたか バブル・ファンタジー | What were we able to buy with that money?: Bubble Fantasy | Illustrator: Yuka Hamano |
| 2000 | ストレイト・ストーリー | The Straight Story | picture book of the movie (director: David Lynch) of the same title, Illustrator: Yuka Hamano |
| 2001 | おじいさんは山へ金儲けに 時として、投資は希望を生む | The old man goes to the mountain for money-making. The investment occasionally produces hope. | Illustrator: Yuka Hamano |
| 2003 | 13歳のハローワーク | Hello Work for 13 years old | Illustrator: Yuka Hamano |
| 2003 | ポストマン | Postman | Illustrator: Yuka Hamano |
| | シールド（盾） | Shield | Illustrator: Yuka Hamano |

## Filmography

| Year | Japanese Title | English Title | Role | Director |
| 1979 | 限りなく透明に近いブルー Kagirinaku tōmei ni chikai burū | Almost Transparent Blue | Novel, Scriptwriter, Director | Ryū Murakami |
| 1983 | だいじょうぶマイ・フレンド Daijōbu mai furendo | All Right, My Friend | Novel, Scriptwriter, Director | Ryū Murakami |
| 1989 | ラッフルズホテル Raffuruzu Hoteru | Raffles Hotel | Novel, Director | Ryū Murakami |
| 1992 | トパーズ Topāzu | Topaz a.k.a. Tokyo Decadence | Novel, Scriptwriter, Director | Ryū Murakami |
| 1996 | ラブ＆ポップ Rabu & Poppu | Love & Pop | Novel | Hideaki Anno |
| 1999 | オーディション Ōdishon | Audition | Novel | Takashi Miike |
| 2000 | KYOKO | Because of You | Novel, Scriptwriter, Director | Ryū Murakami |
| 2001 | 走れ！イチロー Hashire! Ichirō | Run! Ichiro | Novel | Kazuki Ōmori |
| 2003 | 昭和歌謡大全集 Shōwa kayō daizenshū | Karaoke Terror: The Complete Japanese Showa Songbook | Novel | Tetsuo Shinohara |
| 2004 | シクスティナイン Shikusutinain | 69 | Novel | Lee Sang-il |
| 2006 | ポプラル！ Popuraru! | Popular! | Executive Producer | Jen Paz |
| 2018 | ピアッシング Piasshingu | Piercing | Novel | Nicolas Pesce |