is a

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while othe ...

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest t ...

writer,

essayist An essay is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a letter, a paper, an article, a pamphlet, and a short story. Essays have been sub-classified as formal an ...

, and

filmmaker Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, castin ...

. His novels explore human nature through themes of disillusionment, drug use, surrealism, murder, and war, set against the dark backdrop of Japan. His best known novels are '' Almost Transparent Blue'', ''

Audition An audition is a sample performance by an actor, singer, musician, dancer or other performer. It typically involves the performer displaying their talent through a previously memorized and rehearsed solo piece or by performing a work or piece ...

'', ''

Coin Locker Babies , 1980, is a novel by Ryū Murakami about coin-operated-locker babies, translated into English by Stephen Snyder. The translation was published in 1995 by Kodansha (講談社 Kōdansha) International Ltd and republished in 2013 by Pushkin Press ...

'' and ''

In the Miso Soup is a novel by Ryu Murakami. It was published over several months in Japanese throughout 1997 as a serialized feature in the Yomiuri Shimbun. In the same year, it was revised and republished as a book by Gentosha Bunko. The novel won the Yomiur ...

''.

Biography

Murakami was born in Sasebo, Nagasaki on 19 February 1952. The name ''Ryūnosuke'' was taken from the protagonist in ''Daibosatsu-tōge'', a work of fiction by . 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 colleagues 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 A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to different countries around ...

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 film An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is produced outside the major film studio system, in addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies (or, in ...

s. He enrolled in the

silkscreen Screen printing is a printing technique where a mesh is used to transfer ink (or dye) onto a substrate, except in areas made impermeable to the ink by a blocking stencil. A blade or squeegee is moved across the screen to fill the open mesh ...

department at Gendaishichosha School of Art in Tokyo, but dropped out in the first year. In October 1972, he moved to

Fussa, Tokyo is a city located in the western portion of Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 56,786, and a population density of 5600 persons per km². The total area of the city is . About one third of the city area is occ ...

and was accepted for the sculpture program at

Musashino Art University or is a private university in Kodaira, Western Tokyo, founded in 1962 with roots going back to 1929. It is known as one of the leading art universities in Japan. History In October 1929, was founded. In December 1948, it became , and in ...

. 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 The music of Cuba, including its instruments, performance, and dance, comprises a large set of unique traditions influenced mostly by west African and European (especially Spanish) music. Due to the syncretic nature of most of its genres, Cuban mu ...

in Japan and established a label, ''Murakami's'', within

Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainmen ...

. Murakami started the

e-magazine An online magazine is a magazine published on the Internet, through bulletin board systems and other forms of public computer networks. One of the first magazines to convert from a print magazine format to being online only was the computer maga ...

''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 JOTX-DTV (channel 7), branded as and known colloquially as , is a television station headquartered in the Sumitomo Fudosan Roppongi Grand Tower in Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo, Japan, owned and operated by the subsidiary of listed certif ...

. The co-host is

Eiko Koike is a Japanese actress. Biography Koike starred in Kunitoshi Manda's film '' The Kiss''. She appeared in Kiyoshi Kurosawa's 2012 television drama ''Penance,'' and co-starred in Junji Sakamoto's ''A Chorus of Angels'' with Sayuri Yoshinaga. S ...

. In the same year, he began a

video streaming Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos without a traditional video playback device and the constraints of a typical static broadcasting schedule. In the 20th century, broadcasting in the form of ...

service, RVR (Ryu's Video Report). In 2010, he established a company, , to sell and produce

eBooks An ebook (short for electronic book), also known as an e-book or eBook, is a book publication made available in digital form, consisting of text, images, or both, readable on the flat-panel display of computers or other electronic devices. Alt ...

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 The is a Japanese literary award presented biannually. Because of its prestige and the considerable attention the winner receives from the media, it is, along with the Naoki Prize, one of Japan's most sought after literary prizes. History ...

, going on to become a bestseller. In 1980, Murakami published a much longer novel, ''

'', again to critical acclaim, and won the 3rd Noma Liberal Arts New Member Prize. Next came the autobiographical novel '' 69'', and then ''Ai to Gensou 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 Sadomasochism ( ) is the giving and receiving of pleasure from acts involving the receipt or infliction of pain or humiliation. Practitioners of sadomasochism may seek sexual pleasure from their acts. While the terms sadist and masochist refer ...

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 The Tanizaki Prize (谷崎潤一郎賞 ''Tanizaki Jun'ichirō Shō''), named in honor of the Japanese novelist Jun'ichirō Tanizaki, is one of Japan's most sought-after literary awards. It was established in 1965 by the publishing company Chūō ...

. 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 and Pop'' by anime director

Hideaki Anno is a Japanese animator, filmmaker and actor. He is best known for creating the anime series ''Neon Genesis Evangelion'' (1995)''.'' His style is defined by his postmodernist approach and the extensive portrayal of characters' thoughts and emotio ...

. 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. In 1997 came the psychological thriller novel ''

'', set in Tokyo's Kabuki-cho

red-light district A red-light district or pleasure district is a part of an urban area where a concentration of prostitution and sex-oriented businesses, such as sex shops, strip clubs, and adult theaters, are found. In most cases, red-light districts are parti ...

, which won him the

Yomiuri Prize The is a literary award in Japan. The prize was founded in 1949 by the Yomiuri Shinbun Company to help form a "strong cultural nation". The winner is awarded two million Japanese yen and an inkstone. Award categories For the first two years, ...

for Fiction that year. ''Parasites'' (''Kyōsei chū'', 2000) is about a young

hikikomori , also known as acute social withdrawal, is total withdrawal from society and seeking extreme degrees of social isolation and confinement. ''Hikikomori'' refers to both the phenomenon in general and the recluses themselves. ''Hikikomori'' ha ...

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 is a Japanese composer, pianist, singer, record producer and actor who has pursued a diverse range of styles as a solo artist and as a member of Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO). With his bandmates Haruomi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi, Sakamoto i ...

's group NML ''

No More Landmines No More Landmines (also known as The No More Landmines Trust) was a United Kingdom-based humanitarian landmine relief charity. The charity focused on landmine and unexploded ordnance removal, mine risk education programmes, and rehabilitation o ...

'', 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 North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and ...

. It won him the Noma Liberal Arts Prize and . The novel ''

'' was made into a feature film by

Takashi Miike is a Japanese film director, film producer and screenwriter. He has directed over one hundred theatrical, video, and television productions since his debut in 1991. His films run through a variety of different genres, and range from violent a ...

. Murakami reportedly liked it so much he gave Miike his blessing to adapt ''

.'' The screenplay for the latter was worked on by director

Jordan Galland Jordan Galland (born 1980) is an American filmmaker and musician based in New York City, and operates Slush Puppy Music, a record label, as well as his own film production company, Ravenous Films. Early life Born in Farmington, Connecticut, Ga ...

, but Miike failed to raise enough funding for it. An adaptation directed by

Michele Civetta Michele Civetta (born 1976) is an Italian American film director and multi-media artist and founder of Quintessence Films. Career Michele Civetta is an Emmy-nominated director. He has directed videos for Lou Reed, Sparklehorse, Edward Sharp ...

is currently in production. In 2011, ''Utau Kujira'' won the .

Selected bibliography

Novels

Short story collections

English short stories

Non-fiction and essays

Interviews and letters

Picture books

Filmography

References

External links

"Murakami Ryū"
(''

The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction ''The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction'' (SFE) is an English language reference work on science fiction, first published in 1979. It has won the Hugo, Locus and British SF Awards. Two print editions appeared in 1979 and 1993. A third, contin ...

''; by

Jonathan Clements Jonathan Michael Clements (born 9 July 1971) is a British author and scriptwriter. His non-fiction works include biographies of Confucius, Koxinga and Qin Shi Huang, as well as monthly opinion columns for ''Neo'' magazine. He is also the co-aut ...

) *
Ryu Murakami
at J'Lit Books from Japan

at JLPP (Japanese Literature Publishing Project)
REVIEW : Ryu Murakami
- From the Fatherland With Love at Upcoming4.me
Ryu Murakami
at the

Internet Movie Database IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Murakami, Ryu 1952 births 20th-century essayists 20th-century Japanese male writers 20th-century Japanese novelists 20th-century Japanese short story writers 20th-century letter writers 20th-century non-fiction writers 20th-century Japanese screenwriters 21st-century essayists 21st-century Japanese male writers 21st-century Japanese novelists 21st-century Japanese short story writers 21st-century non-fiction writers 21st-century screenwriters Akutagawa Prize winners Cultural critics English-language writers from Japan Film theorists Japanese alternate history writers Japanese crime fiction writers Japanese erotica writers Japanese essayists Japanese film directors Japanese horror writers Japanese magazine editors Japanese male short story writers Japanese mystery writers Japanese non-fiction writers Japanese novelists Japanese psychological fiction writers Japanese science fiction writers Japanese speculative fiction writers Japanese television presenters Japanese television talk show hosts Literary theorists Living people Mass media theorists Media critics People from Fussa, Tokyo People from Sasebo Postmodernist filmmakers Satirists Social critics Surrealist filmmakers Surrealist writers Weird fiction writers Writers about activism and social change Writers from Nagasaki Prefecture Yomiuri Prize winners