Ryū Murakami
| Ryū Murakami | |
|---|---|
|
Ryū Murakami in 2005 | |
| Born |
February 19, 1952 Sasebo, Nagasaki, Japan |
| Occupation | Novelist, essayist, filmmaker |
| Nationality | Japanese |
| Literary movement | Postmodernism |
Ryū Murakami (村上 龍 Murakami Ryū, born February 19, 1952 in Sasebo, Nagasaki) is a Japanese novelist, short story writer, essayist and filmmaker. Murakami's novels explore human nature through themes of disillusion, drug use, surrealism, murder and war set against the dark backdrop of Japan. His most well known novels are Almost Transparent Blue, Coin Locker Babies and In the Miso Soup.
Biography
He was born Ryūnosuke Murakami (村上龍之助 Murakami Ryūnosuke) in Sasebo, Nagasaki on February 19, 1952. The name Ryūnosuke was taken from the main character in Daibosatsu-tōge, a piece of fiction by Nakazato Kaizan (1885–1944).
He attended primary, middle and senior high school in Sasebo. While a student in senior high, Murakami helped form a rock band called Coelacanth, in which he was the drummer.[1] After the band’s breakup, he went on to join the rugby club, which he found especially grueling. He soon left the rugby club and transferred to the school’s newspaper department. 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 the hippie culture which influenced him greatly.
Murakami graduated from high school in 1970, around which time he went on to form yet another rock band and produce 8-millimeter indie films.[2] Murakami went to Tokyo and enrolled in the silkscreen department in Gendaishichosha School of Art, but dropped out halfway through the year. In October 1972, he moved to Fussa near the base of the U.S. Air Force and was accepted into the Musashino Art University in the sculpture program.
In the early 1990s, Murakami devoted himself to Cuban music. He introduced it to Japan and produced the concerts of Cuban musicians in Japan. Then he established his label, Murakami's in Sony Music.
Murakami started the e-mail magazine JMM (Japan Mail Media) in 1999. He serves as the chief editor. Since 2006 he has hosted a TV talk show on business and finance called Kanburia Kyuden which is broadcast on TV Tokyo.[3] The co-host is Eiko Koike. In the same year, Murakami began a video streaming service, RVR (Ryu's Video Report). Murakami established the company G2010 (ジーニーゼロイチゼロ Jī Nī Zero Ichi Zero) to sell and produce eBooks on November 5, 2010.[4][5]
Works
Murakami's first work, the short novel Almost Transparent Blue, written while he was still a student of Musashino Art University, deals with promiscuity and drug use among disaffected Japanese youth. Critically acclaimed as a new style of literature, it won the Gunzō newcomer's literature prize in 1976 despite some observers decrying it as decadent. Later the same year, Blue won the Akutagawa Prize,[6] going on to become a bestseller.[7]
In 1980, Murakami published the much longer novel Coin Locker Babies, again to critical acclaim, for which he won the 3rd Noma Liberal Arts New Member prize. Afterward he wrote the autobiographical novel 69. His next work, Ai to Gensou no Fascism (1987) revolves around the struggle reforming Japan’s Survival of the Fittest model of society, by the secret "Hunting Society". His work in 1988, Topaz, is about a sadomasochistic woman’s radical expression of her sexuality.
Murakami's story The World in Five Minutes From Now (1994) is written as a point of view in a parallel universe version of Japan, which got him 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 Hirabayashi Taiko literary 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 a live action film Love and Pop by anime director Hideaki Anno; as well as Popular Hits of the Showa Era, which concerns the escalating firepower of a battle between five teenage male and five middle-aged female social rejects.
In 1997 he wrote 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. In 1999 he became the Editor-in-Chief of the mail magazine JMM which discusses the ‘bubble’ economy of Japan.
In 2000, he wrote Parasites (Kyōsei chū) about a young hikikomori who is fascinated by war, which won him the 36th Tanizaki Prize. The same year Exodus From Hopeless Japan (Kibō no Kuni no Exodus) was written, a story about junior high students who lose their desire to be involved in normal Japanese society, and instead create a new society over the internet.[8]
In 2001, he became involved in his friend Ryuichi Sakamoto's group N.M.L. No More Landmine (see Zero Landmine), which involves the removal of landmines that are still buried in many countries around the world.
In 2004, Murakami announced the publication of 13 Year Old Hello Work, a work whose aim is to increase an interest in young people to enter the workforce. His next work Hantō wo Deyo (2005) is about the invasion of Japan by North Korea, which won him the 58th Noma Liberal Arts prize, and the 59th Mainichi Shuppan Culture Prize.
His novel Audition was adapted into a feature film by Takashi Miike. Murakami reportedly liked it so much he gave Miike his blessing to adapt Coin Locker Babies. The screen play was worked on by director Jordan Galland. However, Miike could not raise funding for the project. An adaptation directed by Michele Civetta is currently in production.[9]
In 2011, Utau Kujira won the Mainichi Art Award.
Selected bibliography
Novels
| Year | Japanese Title | English Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | 限りなく透明に近いブルー (Kagirinaku Tōmei ni Chikai Burū) | Almost Transparent Blue | English translation by Nancy Andrew |
| 1977 | 海の向こうで戦争が始まる (Umi no Mukō de Sensō ga Hajimaru) | War Begins Beyond the Sea | |
| 1980 | コインロッカー・ベイビーズ (Koinrokkā Beibīzu) | Coin Locker Babies | English translation by Stephen Snyder, republished by Pushkin Press, 2013 |
| 1983 | だいじょうぶマイ・フレンド (Daijōbu mai furendo) | All Right, My Friend | |
| 1985 | テニスボーイの憂鬱 (Tenisu Bōi no Yūutsu) | Melancholy of Tennis Boy | |
| 1987 | 69 Shikusuti Nain | 69 sixty nine | English translation by Ralph F. McCarthy, published by Pushkin Press, 2013 |
| 愛と幻想のファシズム (Ai to Gensō no Fasizumu) | Fascism of Love and Fantasy | ||
| 1989 | ラッフルズホテル (Raffuruzu Hoteru) | Raffles Hotel | |
| 1991 | コックサッカーブルース (Kokkusakkā Burūsu) | Cocksucker Blues | |
| 超電導ナイトクラブ (Chōdendō Naito Kurabu) | Superconduction Nightclub | ||
| 1992 | イビサ (Ibisa) | Ibiza | |
| 長崎オランダ村 (Nagasaki Oranda Mura) | Nagasaki Holland Village | ||
| 1993 | エクスタシー (Ekusutashī) | Ecstasy | |
| フィジーの小人 (Fijī no Kobito) | Fijian Midget | ||
| 368Y Par4 第2打 (Sanbyakurokujūhachi Yādo Pā Fō Dai Ni Da) | 368Y Par4 the 2nd shot | ||
| 音楽の海岸 (Ongaku no Kaigan) | The seashore of the music | ||
| 1994 | 昭和歌謡大全集 (Shōwa Kayō Daizenshū) | Popular Hits of the Showa Era: A Novel | English translation by Ralph F. McCarthy. Published by Pushkin Press, 2013 |
| 五分後の世界 (Gofungo no Sekai) | The World in Five Minutes From Now | ||
| ピアッシング (Piasshingu) | Piercing | English translation by Ralph F. McCarthy. Published in English January 2007. | |
| 1995 | KYOKO | Kyoko | French translation by Corinne Atlan |
| 1996 | ヒュウガ・ウイルス 五分後の世界Ⅱ (Hūga Uirusu Gofungo no Sekai Tū) | Hūga Virus: The World in Five Minutes From Now II | |
| メランコリア (Merankoria) | Melancholia | French translation by Sylvain Cardonnel | |
| ラブ&ポップ トパーズⅡ (Rabu ando Poppu Topāzu Tū) | Love & Pop: Topaz II | ||
| 1997 | オーディション (Ōdishon) | Audition | English translation by Ralph McCarthy[10] |
| ストレンジ・デイズ (Sutorenji Deizu) | Strange Days | ||
| イン ザ・ミソスープ (In za Misosūpu) | In the Miso Soup | English translation by Ralph F. McCarthy. Published in English 2005. | |
| French translation ("Miso Soup") by Corinne Atlan. Published in French January 2003. | |||
| 1998 | ライン (Rain) | Lines | French translation ("Lignes") by Sylvain Cardonnel, Czech translation ("Čáry") by Jan Levora. |
| 2000 | 共生虫 (Kyōsei Chū) | Parasites | French translation by Sylvain Cardonnel |
| 希望の国のエクソダス (Kibō no Kuni no Ekusodasu) | Exodus of the country of hope | ||
| 2001 | タナトス (Tanatosu) | Thanatos | |
| THE MASK CLUB | The Mask Club | ||
| 最後の家族 (Saigo no Kazoku) | The Last Family | ||
| 2005 | 半島を出よ (Hantō o Deyo) | 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 | Singing Whale | |
| 2011 | 心はあなたのもとに (Kokoro wa Anata no Motoni) |
Short story collections
| Year | Japanese Title | English Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | 悲しき熱帯 (Kanashiki Nettai) | Tropical Sad | reissued under the new title of “Summer in the city” in 1988. |
| 1986 | POST ポップアートのある部屋 (Posuto Poppu Āto no aru Heya) | POST, Room with Pop Art | |
| 走れ！タカハシ (Hashire! Takahashi) | Run! Takahashi | a series of novels about one baseball player | |
| ニューヨーク・シティ・マラソン | New York City Marathon | ||
| 1988 | トパーズ (Topāzu) | Topaz | |
| 村上龍料理小説集 (Murakami Ryū Ryōri Shōsetsushū) | The collection of the Ryū Murakami dish novels | ||
| 1991 | 恋はいつも未知なもの (Kanashiki Nettai) | Love is always strange | |
| 1995 | 村上龍映画小説集 (Murakami Ryū Eiga Shōsetsushū) | The collection of the Ryū Murakami movie novels | |
| 1996 | モニカ-音楽家の夢・小説家の物語 (Monika – Ongakuka noYume Shōsetsuka no Yume) | Monica - Dream of a musician, story of a novelist | Joint work with Ryuichi Sakamoto |
| 1997 | 白鳥 (Hakuchō) | Swan | |
| 1998 | ワイン一杯だけの真実 (Wain Ippai dake no Shinjitsu) | Truth of a cup of wine | |
| 2003 | とおくはなれてそばにいて (Tōku Hanarete Soba ni ite) | ||
| どこにでもある場所どこにもいないわたし (Dokonidemo aru Basho Dokonimo inai Watashi) | renamed to 空港にて (Kūkō nite at the airport) in the paperback edition | ||
| 2007 | 特権的情人美食 村上龍料理&官能小説集 (Tokkenteki Jōjin Bishoku Murakami Ryū Ryōri & Kannō Shōsetsushū) | The privileged mistress gastronomy: The collection of Ryū Murakami dish & sensuality novels | |
| 2012 | 55歳からのハローライフ (Gojūgo-sai kara no Harōraifu) | 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 |
English short stories
| Year | Japanese Title | 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.[11] | |
| 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.[11] | |
| 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).[11] | |
| 2011 | Penlight | Zoetrope All-Story (Vol. 15, No. 3, 2011). English translation by Ralph McCarthy.[11] |
Non-fiction and essays
| Year | Japanese Title | English Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | アメリカン★ドリーム | American Dream | |
| 1987 | すべての男は消耗品である。 | Every Man is a Consumable | Vol.1–11 (1987–2010) |
| 1991 | 村上龍全エッセイ 1976-1981 | All the Ryū Murakami essays 1976-1981 | |
| 村上龍全エッセイ 1982-1986 | All the Ryū Murakami essays 1982-1986 | ||
| 村上龍全エッセイ 1987-1991 | All the Ryū Murakami essays 1987-1991 | ||
| 1992 | 龍言飛語 | ||
| 1993 | 「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 | あなたがいなくなった後の東京物語 | Tokyo Story after you go away | |
| 1998 | 寂しい国の殺人 | Murder in the lonely country | |
| フィジカル・インテンシティ | Physical Intensity | Vol.1-5 (1998-2002) | |
| 1999 | 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 | 誰にでもできる恋愛 | The love that anyone can do | |
| 2001 | ダメな女 | Useless Woman | |
| 2002 | 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 | |
| 恋愛の格差 | Involuntary celibacy | ||
| 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 | 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 | 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 |
|
| 村上龍文学的エッセイ集 | The collection of Ryū Murakami literary essays | ||
| 2007 | 案外、買い物好き | Unexpectedly, I’m a shopping lover | |
| 2008 | 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 | 無趣味のすすめ | Encouragement of the having no hobby | |
| 2010 | 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 | 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 | 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 ("Ko" wo Mitsumeru Daiarōgu Murakami Ryū X Itō Jōichi) | 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 |
| ポストマン | Postman | Illustrator: Yuka Hamano | |
| シールド（盾） (Sīrudo (Tate)) | 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 Omori |
| 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 |
| 2008 | コインロッカー・ベイビーズ Koinrokkā Beibīzu |
Coin Locker Babies | Novel | Michele Civetta |
References
- ↑ http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/almost-transparent-blue-ryu-murakami/1101133064?ean=9780870114694
- ↑ http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/05a447e8-263e-11e3-8ef6-00144feab7de.html
- ↑ Cambria Kyūden: TV Tokyo
- ↑ 「電子書籍は文字文化の革命」――作家・村上龍さんが電子書籍会社設立 (in Japanese). ITmedia Enterprise. 2010-11-04. Retrieved 2014-06-29.
- ↑ "iBookstoreとともに「村上龍電子本製作所」が始動" (in Japanese). ASCII Corporation. 2013-03-08. Retrieved 2014-06-29.
- ↑ http://www.vice.com/en_uk/read/ryu-murukami-about-north-korea-and-the-future-of-japan
- ↑ http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/05a447e8-263e-11e3-8ef6-00144feab7de.html
- ↑ http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/05a447e8-263e-11e3-8ef6-00144feab7de.html
- ↑ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0451019/
- ↑ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/bookreviews/4209490/Audition-by-Ryu-Murakami-review.html
- 1 2 3 4 Stories by Ryu Murakami published in Zoetrope: All-Story
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External links
- "Murakami Ryū" (The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction; by Jonathan Clements)
- Ryu Murakami at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
- Ryu Murakami at J'Lit Books from Japan
- Synopsis of Leave the Peninsula (Hanto o Deyo) at JLPP (Japanese Literature Publishing Project)
- REVIEW : Ryu Murakami - From the Fatherland With Love at Upcoming4.me
- Ryu Murakami at the Internet Movie Database
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