is a Japanese

Japanese people

The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...

 novelist and filmmaker

Film director

A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...

. He is colloquially referred to as the "Maradona

Diego Maradona

Diego Armando Maradona is a retired Argentine football player and widely regarded as one of the greatest football players of all time. Over the course of his professional club career Maradona played for Argentinos Juniors, Boca Juniors, Barcelona, Napoli, Sevilla and Newell's Old Boys, setting...

 of Japanese literature

Japanese literature

Early works of Japanese literature were heavily influenced by cultural contact with China and Chinese literature, often written in Classical Chinese. Indian literature also had an influence through the diffusion of Buddhism in Japan...

".

Biography

Born as Ryūnosuke Murakami (村上龍之助) in Sasebo, Nagasaki on February 19, 1952. The name Ryunosuke was taken from the main character in Daibosatsutoge, 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, in which he was the drummer. 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.

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. army and was accepted into the Musashino Art University

Musashino Art University

is a university in Kodaira, western Tokyo founded in 1962 and has roots going back to 1929.Teikoku Art School was founded in 1929; in 1948 it became Musashino Art School , and in 1962 it became Musashino Art University...

 in the sculpture program.

Works

Murakami's first work, the short novel Almost Transparent Blue

Almost Transparent Blue

is a novel by Japanese author Ryū Murakami, published in 1976. Murakami directed a film adaptation in 1979. -Plot:Narrated by the main character Ryū the novel focuses on his small group of young friends in the mid-seventies. Living in a Japanese town with an American air force base, their lives...

, written while he was still a student of Musashino Art University

Musashino Art University

is a university in Kodaira, western Tokyo founded in 1962 and has roots going back to 1929.Teikoku Art School was founded in 1929; in 1948 it became Musashino Art School , and in 1962 it became Musashino Art University...

, deals with promiscuity and drug use among disaffected Japanese youth. Critically acclaimed as a new style of literature, it won the newcomer's literature prize in 1976 despite some observers decrying it as decadent. Later the same year, Blue won the Akutagawa Prize

Akutagawa Prize

The is a Japanese literary award presented semi-annually. It was established in 1935 by Kan Kikuchi, then-editor of Bungeishunjū magazine, in memory of author Ryūnosuke Akutagawa...

, going on to become a best seller. In 1980, Murakami published the much longer novel Coin Locker Babies

Coin Locker Babies

, 1980) is a novel by Ryu Murakami, translated into English by Stephen Snyder. The translation was published in 1995 by Kodansha International Ltd.-Plot summary:...

, again to critical acclaim.

In 1980, Murakami received the 3rd Noma Liberal Arts New Member prize for his novel Coin Locker Babies. Afterward he wrote an autobiographical work 69

69 (novel)

is a roman à clef novel by Ryu Murakami. It was published first in 1987. It takes place in the year 1969, and tells the story of some high school students coming of age in an obscure Japanese city who try to mimic the counter-culture movements taking place in Tokyo and other parts of the...

. His next work Ai to Genzou no Fascism (1987) revolves around the struggle reforming Japan’s Survival of the Fittest model of society, by a secret society the "Hunting Society". His work in 1988, Topaz, is about a SM Girl’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 Junichiro prize. In 1996 he continued his autobiography 69, and released the Murakami Ryu Movie and Novel Collection. He also won the Hirabayashitai Children’s literary prize. The same year, he wrote the novel Topaz II about a female high school student engaged in compensated dating activities, which later was adapted as a live action film Love and Pop by Anime director Hideaki Anno.

In 1998 he wrote the Psycho-horror styled story In the Miso Soup

In the Miso Soup

is a novel by Ryu Murakami. It was published in 1997 in Japanese, and in English in 2003.- Plot summary :Twenty year-old Kenji is a Japanese "nightlife" guide for foreigners — he navigates gaijin men around the sex clubs and hostess bars of Tokyo. On December 29 he receives a phone call from an...

which won him the Yomiuri Literature Prize. In 1999 he became in the Editor in Chief of mail magazine JMM which discusses the ‘bubble’ economy of Japan.

In 2000, he wrote Parasites (Kyōsei Mushi) about a young hikikomori who is fascinated by war, which won him the 36th Tanizaki Junichiro Prize. The same year Kibō no Kuni no Exodus was written, a story about junior high students who lose their desire in being involved in normal Japanese society, and instead create a new society over the internet.

In 2001, he became involved in his friend Ryuichi Sakamoto

Ryuichi Sakamoto

After working as a session musician with Haruomi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi in 1977, the trio formed the internationally successful electronic music band Yellow Magic Orchestra in 1978. Known for their seminal influence on electronic music, the group helped pioneer electronic genres such as...

's group N.M.L. No More Landmine (see Zero Landmine

Zero Landmine

Zero Landmine is an Extended play recording created to promote awareness of the problem of landmines and to promote a ban on landmines...

), 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 go and find jobs and work. His next work Hontō wo Deyo (2005) is about relations between Japan and Korea, which won him the 58th Noma Liberal Arts prize, and the 59th Mainichi Shuppon Culture Prize.

His novel Audition

Audition (novel)

is a Japanese novel by Ryu Murakami published in 1997 and published in English in 2009. It was the basis for the film by Takashi Miike released in 1999.- Plot summary :...

was adapted into a feature film by Takashi Miike

Takashi Miike

is a highly prolific and controversial Japanese filmmaker. He has directed over seventy theatrical, video, and television productions since his debut in 1991. In the years 2001 and 2002 alone, Miike is credited with directing fifteen productions...

. Murakami reportedly liked it so much he gave Miike his blessing to adapt Coin Locker Babies

Coin Locker Babies

, 1980) is a novel by Ryu Murakami, translated into English by Stephen Snyder. The translation was published in 1995 by Kodansha International Ltd.-Plot summary:...

. The screen play was worked on by director Jordan Galland

Jordan Galland

Jordan Galland is an award-winning filmmaker, musician. He has also contributed his music to raise money and awareness of various charitable causes....

. However, Miike could not raise funding for the project. An adaptation directed by Michele Civetta

Michele Civetta

-Career:Civetta has directed videos for Lou Reed, Sparklehorse, Marracash, Ladytron, Yoko Ono. Commercials for Coca-Cola, Martini & Rossi, Cingular wireless, Badoit mineral water. In 2006 Civetta wrote and directed an ambitious and critically acclaimed musical feature for Sean Lennon's Capitol...

 is currently in production.

Murakami has played drums for a rock group called Coelacanth and hosted a TV talk show.

Selected bibliography

Year	Japanese Title	English Title	Comments
1976	限りなく透明に近いブルー Kagirinaku tōmeini chikai burū	Almost Transparent Blue Almost Transparent Blue is a novel by Japanese author Ryū Murakami, published in 1976. Murakami directed a film adaptation in 1979. -Plot:Narrated by the main character Ryū the novel focuses on his small group of young friends in the mid-seventies. Living in a Japanese town with an American air force base, their lives...	English translation by Nancy Andrew Nancy Andrew Linda Nancy Andrew was the English-language translator of Japanese author Ryū Murakami's highly-acclaimed novel, Almost Transparent Blue, which had won the Akutagawa Prize in 1976....
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 Coin Locker Babies , 1980) is a novel by Ryu Murakami, translated into English by Stephen Snyder. The translation was published in 1995 by Kodansha International Ltd.-Plot summary:...	English translation by Stephen Snyder, Published from Kodansha International Ltd., 1995
1986	走れ！タカハシ Hashire! Takahashi	Run! Takahashi
1987	69 sixty nine Shikusutinain	69 69 (novel) is a roman à clef novel by Ryu Murakami. It was published first in 1987. It takes place in the year 1969, and tells the story of some high school students coming of age in an obscure Japanese city who try to mimic the counter-culture movements taking place in Tokyo and other parts of the...	English translation by Ralph F. McCarthy
1989	ラッフルズホテル Raffuruzu Hoteru	Raffles Hotel (novel)
1993	エクスタシー Ekusutashī	Ecstasy
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 in English January 2011.
1994	五分後の世界 Gofungo no Sekai	The World in Five Minutes From Now
1994	ピアッシング Piasshingu	Piercing Piercing (Novel) Piercing is a novel by Ryu Murakami. Originally published in Japanese in 1994, it was translated and published in English by Bloomsbury Publishing in 2008.-Overview:...	English translation by Ralph F. McCarthy. Published in English January 2007.
1995	KYOKO Kyōko	Kyoko Kyoko (novel) Kyoko is a 1995 novel by Ryu Murakami. The book tells the story of a young woman who comes to New York City to find the Cuban-American GI who taught her to dance salsa...	French translation by Corinne Atlan
1997	イン ザ・ミソスープ In za Misosūpu	In the Miso Soup In the Miso Soup is a novel by Ryu Murakami. It was published in 1997 in Japanese, and in English in 2003.- Plot summary :Twenty year-old Kenji is a Japanese "nightlife" guide for foreigners — he navigates gaijin men around the sex clubs and hostess bars of Tokyo. On December 29 he receives a phone call from an...	English translation by Ralph F. McCarthy. Published in English 2005. French translation ("Miso Soup") by Corinne Atlan. Published in French January 2003.
	ストレンジ・デイズ Sutorenji Deizu	Strange Days
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
	メランコリア Merankoria	Melancholia
2005		I am a Novelist	short story published in The New Yorker The New Yorker The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast... English translation by Ralph McCarthy
	半島を出よ Hanto Wo Deyo
2006	ダイアローグ　村上壟X伊藤穣一 Daiarōgu Murakami Ryū X Itō Jōichi	Dialogue: Ryu Murakami X Joichi Ito

Filmography

Year	Japanese Title	English Title	Role	Director
1979	限りなく透明に近いブルー Kagirinaku tōmeini chikai burū	Almost Transparent Blue Almost Transparent Blue is a novel by Japanese author Ryū Murakami, published in 1976. Murakami directed a film adaptation in 1979. -Plot:Narrated by the main character Ryū the novel focuses on his small group of young friends in the mid-seventies. Living in a Japanese town with an American air force base, their lives...	Writer, Director	Ryu Murakami
1983	だいじょうぶマイ・フレンド Daijōbu mai furendo	All Right, My Friend Daijobu, My Friend is a 1983 Japanese film starring Peter Fonda as a superhero called Gonzy Traumerai. The film, written and directed by Ryu Murakami, based on his own novel, is a parody of such films as Superman, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, and Attack of the Killer Tomatoes.-External links: on IMDb...	Writer, Director	Ryu Murakami
1989	ラッフルズホテル Raffuruzu Hoteru	Raffles Hotel	Writer, Director	Ryu Murakami
1992	トパーズ Topāzu	Tokyo Decadence Tokyo Decadence is a 1992 Japanese film. The film was directed by Ryu Murakami with music by Ryuichi Sakamoto. The film stars Miho Nikaido and is known by two other titles, Topaz, Sex Dreams of Topaz. It has been banned in Australia and South Korea...	Writer, Director	Ryu Murakami
1996	ラブ＆ポップ Rabu & Poppu	Love & Pop Love & Pop ' is director Hideaki Anno's first live action film, an adaptation of Ryū Murakami's novel, Topaz II. Released in 1998, it somewhat follows the film Tokyo Decadence, an adaptation of Topaz I filmed by Murakami himself...	Writer	Hideaki Anno Hideaki Anno is a Japanese animation and film director. Anno is best known for his work on the popular anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion. His style has come to be defined by the touches of postmodernism that he injects into his work, as well as the thorough portrayal of characters' thoughts and emotions,...
1999	オーディション Ōdishon	Audition Audition (novel) is a Japanese novel by Ryu Murakami published in 1997 and published in English in 2009. It was the basis for the film by Takashi Miike released in 1999.- Plot summary :...	Novel	Takashi Miike Takashi Miike is a highly prolific and controversial Japanese filmmaker. He has directed over seventy theatrical, video, and television productions since his debut in 1991. In the years 2001 and 2002 alone, Miike is credited with directing fifteen productions...
2000	KYOKO Kyoko (film) Kyoko is a 2000 film, written and directed by Ryu Murakami and based on Murakami's 1995 novel of the same name. The story concerns a Japanese woman who travels to the US to find the Cuban-American GI that taught her Latin dance when she was a child....	Because of You Kyoko (film) Kyoko is a 2000 film, written and directed by Ryu Murakami and based on Murakami's 1995 novel of the same name. The story concerns a Japanese woman who travels to the US to find the Cuban-American GI that taught her Latin dance when she was a child....	Writer, Director	Ryu Murakami
2001	走れ！イチロー Hashire! Ichirō		Writer	Kazuki Omori Kazuki Omori is a Japanese film director and screenwriter.-Career:Born in Osaka, Ōmori studied at Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine and actually holds a license to practice medicine. While in school, he began making films independently, with Kuraku naru made matenai! , which featured Seijun Suzuki,...
2003	昭和歌謡大全集 Shōwa kayō daizenshū	Karaoke Terror: The Complete Japanese Showa Songbook	Novel	Tetsuo Shinohara Tetsuo Shinohara Tetsuo Shinohara is a Japanese film director. His film First Love was the 3rd Best Film at the 22nd Yokohama Film Festival.-Filmography:# Ogawa no Hotori # Clearless...
2004	シクスティナイン Shikusutinain	69	Writer	Sang-il Lee Sang-il Lee Lee Sang-il is a Zainichi Korean film director and screenwriter. His first film Chong was a short film about the lives of third generation Koreans living in Japan....
2006	ポプラル！ Popular!		Executive Producer	Jen Paz
2008	コインロッカー・ベイビーズ Koinrokkā Beibīzu	Coin Locker Babies Coin Locker Babies , 1980) is a novel by Ryu Murakami, translated into English by Stephen Snyder. The translation was published in 1995 by Kodansha International Ltd.-Plot summary:...	Writer	Michele Civetta Michele Civetta -Career:Civetta has directed videos for Lou Reed, Sparklehorse, Marracash, Ladytron, Yoko Ono. Commercials for Coca-Cola, Martini & Rossi, Cingular wireless, Badoit mineral water. In 2006 Civetta wrote and directed an ambitious and critically acclaimed musical feature for Sean Lennon's Capitol...