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Sayaka Murata

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Sayaka Murata
Murata at the LiteratureXchange Festival in Aarhus, Denmark, in 2022
Murata at the LiteratureXchange Festival in Aarhus, Denmark, in 2022
Native name
村田沙耶香
Born (1979-08-14) August 14, 1979 (age 46)
LanguageJapanese
Alma materTamagawa University
GenreFiction
Notable works
Notable awards
Signature

Sayaka Murata (村田沙耶香 Murata Sayaka; born August 14, 1979) is a Japanese writer. She is best known for the international bestseller Convenience Store Woman (2016) which has been translated into more than thirty languages worldwide. Murata has won many major literary prizes in Japan, incuding the Gunzo Prize for New Writers in 2003, the Noma Literary New Face Prize in 2009, the Mishima Yukio Prize in 2013, and the Akutagawa Prize for Convenience Store Woman in 2016. All the English translations of her work are done by Ginny Tapley Takemori. In addition to Convenience Store Woman, Murata's first book to be published in English, Takemori has translated the novels Earthlings and Vanishing World, the short-story collection Life Ceremony, the short stories "Faith", "Survival", and "A Clean Marriage", as well as the New York Times published opinion piece "The Future of Sex Lives in All of Us", among others.

Murata's latest book to be published in English is the 2025 novel Vanishing World, originally published in Japan in 2015. Her latest work in Japanese has been the 2022 short-story collection Faith, of which two stories were translated by Takemori individually.

Biography

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Murata was born in Inzai, Chiba Prefecture, Japan, in 1979. Her father was a judge and her mother was a housewife. Murata has said she did not have a happy childhood. She started writing stories at age 10.[1] As a child, she often read science fiction and mystery novels borrowed from her brother and mother, and her mother bought her a word processor after she attempted to write a novel by hand in the fourth grade of elementary school.[2] After Murata completed middle school in Inzai, her family moved to Tokyo, where she graduated from Kashiwa High School (attached to Nishogakusha University) and studied art curation at Tamagawa University.[1][3]

Kashiwa High School

Her first novel, Jyunyū (Breastfeeding), won the 2003 Gunzo Prize for New Writers.[4] In 2013, she won the Mishima Yukio Prize for Shiro-iro no machi no, sono hone no taion no (Of Bones, Of Body Heat, Of Whitening City), and in 2014 the Special Prize of the Sense of Gender Award.[5][6] In 2016, her 10th novel, Konbini ningen (Convenience Store Woman), won the prestigious Akutagawa Prize,[7] and she was named one of Vogue Japan's Women of the Year.[8] Konbini ningen has sold over 1.5 million copies in Japan[9] and in 2018 it became her first book to be translated into English, under the title Convenience Store Woman.[10] It has been translated into more than 30 languages.[9]

Murata worked part-time as a convenience store clerk in Tokyo for eighteen years until 2017.[11] She has lived in Shinjuku, Tokyo since she was a student.[1]

Writing style

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Murata's writing explores the different consequences of nonconformity in society for men and women, particularly with regard to gender roles, parenthood, and sex.[12] Many of the themes and character backstories in her writing come from her daily observations as a part-time convenience store worker.[11] Societal acceptance of sexlessness in various forms, including asexuality, voluntary and involuntary celibacy, especially within marriage, recurs as a theme in several of her works, such as the novels Shōmetsu sekai (Dwindling World) and Konbini ningen (Convenience Store Woman), and the short story "A Clean Marriage."[13][14] Murata is also known for her frank depictions of adolescent sexuality in work such as Gin iro no uta (Silver Song)[15] and Shiro-iro no machi no, sono hone no taion no (Of Bones, of Body Heat, of Whitening City).[16] In Satsujin shussan, she depicts a future society which may be seen as dystopic.[5]

Themes

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Challenging taboos

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Murata often places challenging taboos at the forefront of her most popular works.[17] The title Earthlings focuses on an 11-year-old girl named Natsuki, with her boyfriend and cousin, Yuu, who believe themselves to be aliens due to their tumultuous relationship with their family. The story quickly develops into a harsh tale containing themes of "sexual abuse, murder, and cannibalism."[17] Murata states on challenging taboos: "For example, murder is said to be taboo, but then why is it considered acceptable if it’s legitimate self-defense or capital punishment? I sensed the ambiguity in my childish mind. And I felt a physical repulsion and fear inside me toward incest and cannibalism, although I didn’t know why they were forbidden. I wondered where those emotions came from.”[17] Murata believes that the more she writes about the questioning of these taboos, the closer she will come to the "real truth of things."[17]

Conformity

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The topic of conformity is common in Japanese literature and culture, and Murata frequently questions its validity, especially in Convenience Store Woman.[18] In this novel, Keiko, a part-time convenience store worker, is confronted by societal expectations to marry and pursue a traditional career.[19]

Asexuality and fictosexuality

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Many of Murata's main heroines find themselves in asexual relationships, such as Natsuki in Earthlings and Keiko in Convenience Store Woman.[20][21] Asexuality is a theme that coincides with questioning the standards society typically expects from citizens, a notion that Murata explores frequently.[17] Murata has stated that "fictosexuality is very strong in [her]"[22] and has written novels that include themes of asexuality and fictosexuality, such as Vanishing World.[23]

Global warming and climate change

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Murata addresses the subject of global warming in her short story, "Survival", which was included in an anthology titled Tales of Two Planets: Stories of Climate Change. The story details a dystopian Japanese society and describes what the world could look like if climate change is left unaddressed.[24][25][26]

Recognition

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Year Prize Work Notes Ref(s).
2003 Gunzo Prize for New Writers "Junyū" Won [4]
2009 Mishima Yukio Prize Gin'iro no Uta Nominated [6]
2009 Noma Literary New Face Prize Won [27]
2010 Mishima Yukio Prize Hoshi ga Sū Mizu Nominated [6]
2012 Mishima Yukio Prize Tadaima Tobira Nominated [6]
2013 Mishima Yukio Prize Shiroiro no Machi no, Sono Hone no Taion no Won [6]
2014 Sense of Gender Awards Satsujin Shussan Won [28]
2016 Akutagawa Prize Convenience Store Woman Won [7]

Bibliography

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Short story collections

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Short story collections by Sayaka Murata
Title Year Original ISBN Original publisher Stories Notes Ref(s).
Junyū (授乳; lit. Breastfeeding) 2005 9784062127943 Kodansha
  • "Junyū" (授乳; "Breastfeeding")
  • "Koibito" (コイビト; "Sweetheart")
  • "Otogi no Heya" (御伽の部屋; "The Fairytale Room")
Gin'iro no Uta (ギンイロノウタ; lit. Silver Song) 2009 9784103100713 Shinchosha
  • "Hikari no Ashioto" (ひかりのあしおと; "Footsteps of Light")
  • "Gin'iro no Uta" (ギンイロノウタ; "Silver Song")
Hoshi ga Sū Mizu (星が吸う水; lit. Water for the Stars) 2010 9784062160971 Kodansha
  • "Hoshi ga Sū Mizu" (星が吸う水; "Water for the Stars")
  • "Gamazumi Kōkai" (ガマズミ航海; "Linden Arrowwood Voyage")
Satsujin Shussan (殺人出産; lit. The Murder Births) 2014 9784062190466 Kodansha
  • "Satsujin Shussan" (殺人出産; "The Murder Births")
  • "Triple" (トリプル, Toripuru)
  • "A Clean Marriage" (清潔な結婚, Seiketsu na Kekkon)
  • "Final Days" (余命, Yomei)
  • "A Clean Marriage" was published in English in Granta 127: Japan in 2014, translated by Ginny Tapley Takemori.[29]
  • "Final Days" was published in English in Freeman's: Change in 2021, translated by Ginny Tapley Takemori.[30]
Life Ceremony (生命式, Seimeishiki) 2019 9784309028309 Kawade Shobo Shinsha
  • "A First-Rate Material" (素敵な素材, Suteki na Sozai)
  • "A Magnificent Spread" (素晴らしい食卓, Subarashī Shokutaku)
  • "A Summer Night's Kiss" (夏の夜の口付け, Natsu no Yoru no Kuchizuke)
  • "Two's Family" (二人家族, Futari Kazoku)
  • "The Time of the Large Star" (大きな星の時間, Ōki na Hoshi no Jikan)
  • "Poochie" (ポチ, Pochi)
  • "Life Ceremony" (生命式, Seimeishiki)
  • "Body Magic" (魔法のからだ, Mahō no Karada)
  • "Lover on the Breeze" (かぜのこいびと, Kaze no Koibito)
  • "Puzzle" (パズル, Pazuru)
  • "Eating the City" (街を食べる, Machi o Taberu)
  • "Hatchling" (孵化, Fuka)
  • The collection was published in English by Grove Atlantic in 2022 (ISBN 9780802159588), translated by Ginny Tapley Takemori.[31]
  • "A First-Rate Material" was published in English in Freeman's: The Future of New Writing in 2017, translated by Ginny Tapley Takemori.[32]
  • "A Summer Night's Kiss" was published in English in Astra: Ecstasy in 2022, translated by Ginny Tapley Takemori.[33]
Marunouchi Mahō Shōjo Mirakurīna (丸の内魔法少女ミラクリーナ; lit. Mirakurīna, the Marunouchi Magical Girl) 2020 9784041084236 Kadokawa
  • "Marunouchi Mahō Shōjo Mirakurīna" (丸の内魔法少女ミラクリーナ; "Mirakurīna the Marunouchi Magical Girl")
  • "Himitsu no Hanazono" (秘密の花園; "Secret Flower Garden")
  • "Musei Kyōshitsu" (無性教室; "Genderless Classroom")
  • "Hen'yō" (変容; "Transformation")
Faith (信仰, Shinkō) 2022 9784163915500 Bungeishunjū
  • "Faith" (信仰, Shinkō)
  • "Survival" (生存, Seizon)
  • "Tsuchi no Shō Uruoi Okoru" (土脉潤起; "Rain Moistens the Soil")[a]
  • "Karera no Wakusei e Kaette Iku Koto" (彼らの惑星へ帰っていくこと; "Returning to Their Planet")
  • "Culture Shock" (カルチャーショック, Karuchā Shokku)
  • "Kimochiyosa Toiu Tsumi" (気持ちよさという罪; "The Sin of Feeling Good")
  • "Kakanakatta Shōsetsu" (書かなかった小説; "The Story That Wasn't Written")
  • "Saigo no Tenrankai" (最後の展覧会; "The Last Exhibition")
  • "Faith" was published in English in Granta: The Online Edition in 2020, translated by Ginny Tapley Takemori.[34]
  • "Survival" was published in English in Tales of Two Planets in 2022 (ISBN 9780143133926), translated by Ginny Tapley Takemori.[35]

Novels

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Novels by Sayaka Murata
Title Year Original ISBN Original publisher Notes Ref(s).
Mouse (マウス, Mausu) 2008 9784062145893 Kodansha
Hakobune (ハコブネ; lit. Ark) 2011 9784087714289 Shueisha
Tadaima Tobira (タダイマトビラ; lit. A Welcoming Door) 2012 9784103100720 Shinchosha
Shiroiro no Machi no, Sono Hone no Taion no (しろいろの街の、その骨の体温の; lit. Of Bones, of Body Heat, of Whitening City) 2012 9784022510112 Asahi Shimbun
Shōmetsu Sekai (消滅世界; lit. Dwindling World) 2015 9784309024325 Kawade Shobo Shinsha Published in English as Vanishing World by Grove Atlantic in 2025 (ISBN 9780802164667), translated by Ginny Tapley Takemori.[36]
Convenience Store Woman (コンビニ人間, Konbini Ningen) 2016 9784163906188 Bungeishunjū Published in English by Grove Atlantic in 2018 (ISBN 9780802128256), translated by Ginny Tapley Takemori.[37]
Earthlings (地球星人, Chikyū Seijin) 2018 9784103100737 Shinchosa Published in English by Grove Atlantic in 2020 (ISBN 9780802157003), translated by Ginny Tapley Takemori.[38]
Kawarimi (変半身（かわりみ）; lit. Changeability) 2019 9784480804914 Chikuma Shobō

Other works

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  • "Chameleon" (photoessay with Tomoko Sawada), English translation by Ginny Tapley Takemori, Granta 144: Art & Photography, 2018.[39]
  • "The Future of Sex Lives in All of Us" (article), English translation by Ginny Tapley Takemori, The New York Times, 2019.[40]

Notes

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  1. ^ The name of the first pentad in the usui solar term, corresponding to February 19–23

References

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  1. ^ a b c Allardice, Lisa (19 April 2025). "Interview: 'Marriage feels like a hostage situation and motherhood a curse': Japanese author Sayaka Murata". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 April 2025.
  2. ^ "村田沙耶香インタビュー「バイトは週3日、週末はダメ人間です」". Bungeishunjū (in Japanese). August 20, 2017. Archived from the original on June 15, 2018. Retrieved June 14, 2018.
  3. ^ "印西出身の村田沙耶香さん 入学時文集「いつか理想の自分に」 二松学舎大学付属柏高、母校も喜びに沸く ／千葉". Mainichi (in Japanese). July 21, 2016. Archived from the original on May 13, 2019. Retrieved June 14, 2018.
  4. ^ a b "Gunzo Awards". Gunzo (in Japanese). Archived from the original on May 13, 2019. Retrieved June 14, 2018.
  5. ^ a b Specchio, Anna (July 5, 2018). "Eutopizing the Dystopia. Gender Roles, Motherhood and Reproduction in Murata Sayaka's "Satsujin Shussan"". Metacritic Journal for Comparative Studies and Theory. 4 (1): 94–108. doi:10.24193/mjcst.2018.5.06. ISSN 2457-8827.
  6. ^ a b c d e "| 新潮社". 新潮社コーポレートサイト. Archived from the original on 2022-10-23. Retrieved 2024-01-29.
  7. ^ a b Kikuchi, Daisuke (July 20, 2016). "Convenience store worker who moonlights as an author wins prestigious Akutagawa Prize". The Japan Times. Archived from the original on January 8, 2019. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
  8. ^ "高畑充希、飛躍の一年を回顧「台風の目にいるような感じ」". Oricon News. Nov 24, 2016. Archived from the original on June 23, 2019. Retrieved February 12, 2018.
  9. ^ a b Tagholm, Roger (January 31, 2019). "Granta buys new Sayaka Murata novel". thebookseller.com. Archived from the original on January 17, 2022. Retrieved February 17, 2021.
  10. ^ Freeman, John (November 16, 2017). "In Praise of Sayaka Murata". Literary Hub. Archived from the original on March 29, 2023. Retrieved February 17, 2021.
  11. ^ a b Rich, Motoko (June 11, 2018). "For Japanese Novelist Sayaka Murata, Odd Is the New Normal". New York Times (subscription required). Archived from the original on May 23, 2023. Retrieved November 22, 2021.
  12. ^ Rich, Motoko (June 11, 2018). "For Japanese Novelist Sayaka Murata, Odd Is the New Normal". The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 23, 2023. Retrieved June 14, 2018.
  13. ^ Fallon, Claire (June 12, 2018). "Amid All The Talk Of Incels, A Solitary Woman's Story". HuffPost. Archived from the original on June 13, 2018. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
  14. ^ Tapley Takamori, Ginny (April 24, 2014). "Translator's Note: A Clean Marriage". Granta. Archived from the original on July 25, 2016. Retrieved June 14, 2018.
  15. ^ "Silver Song". Books from Japan. Archived from the original on June 15, 2018. Retrieved June 14, 2018.
  16. ^ "Of Bones, of Body Heat, of Whitening City". Books from Japan. Archived from the original on June 15, 2018. Retrieved June 14, 2018.
  17. ^ a b c d e "Aliens and Alienation: The Taboo-Challenging Worlds of "Earthlings" Author Murata Sayaka". nippon.com. 2020-11-04. Archived from the original on 2021-12-05. Retrieved 2021-12-05.
  18. ^ ""Convenience Store Woman": Life by the Book". nippon.com. 2018-06-11. Archived from the original on 2021-12-05. Retrieved 2021-12-05.
  19. ^ "Sayaka Murata's Eerie "Convenience Store Woman" Is a Love Story Between a Misfit and a Store". The New Yorker. 2018-06-21. Archived from the original on 2024-01-29. Retrieved 2021-12-05.
  20. ^ Hayes, Stephanie (2020-11-09). "A Dystopian Novel That Challenges Taboos and Refuses Judgment". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on 2021-12-05. Retrieved 2021-12-05.
  21. ^ Garner, Dwight (2018-07-23). "'Convenience Store Woman' Casts a Fluorescent Spell". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2021-12-05. Retrieved 2021-12-05.
  22. ^ Batuman, Elif (2025-04-07). "Sayaka Murata's Alien Eye". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved 2025-10-05.
  23. ^ Harrison, Niall (2025-05-17). "Vanishing World by Sayaka Murata: Review by Niall Harrison". Locus Online. Retrieved 2025-10-05.
  24. ^ "A Trip Through a Wounded Landscape: On John Freeman's "Tales of Two Planets"". Cleveland Review of Books. Archived from the original on 2021-12-05. Retrieved 2021-12-05.
  25. ^ Witze, Alexandra (2018-11-20). "Why extreme rains are gaining strength as the climate warms". Nature. 563 (7732): 458–460. Bibcode:2018Natur.563..458W. doi:10.1038/d41586-018-07447-1. PMID 30459384. S2CID 53722768. Archived from the original on 2023-08-27. Retrieved 2024-01-29.
  26. ^ Ro, Christine. "The animals that will survive climate change". www.bbc.com. Archived from the original on 2021-12-05. Retrieved 2021-12-05.
  27. ^ "過去の受賞作品". Kodansha (in Japanese). Archived from the original on May 13, 2019. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
  28. ^ "2014年度 第14回Sense of Gender賞". The Japanese Association for Gender Fantasy and Science Fiction (in Japanese). August 29, 2015. Archived from the original on June 22, 2018. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
  29. ^ Murata, Sayaka (April 24, 2014). "A Clean Marriage". Granta. Archived from the original on January 29, 2024. Retrieved June 14, 2018.
  30. ^ Freeman's: Change. October 12, 2021. Archived from the original on May 27, 2022. Retrieved May 27, 2022. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
  31. ^ Life Ceremony. Archived from the original on May 29, 2023. Retrieved May 27, 2022. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
  32. ^ "Freeman's: The Future of New Writing". Freeman's. October 10, 2017. Archived from the original on January 29, 2024. Retrieved May 27, 2022.
  33. ^ Murata, Sayaka (April 12, 2022). A Summer Night's Kiss (Literary magazine). Astra House. ISBN 9781662619007. Archived from the original on May 20, 2022. Retrieved May 27, 2022.
  34. ^ Murata, Sayaka (November 18, 2020). "Faith". Granta. Archived from the original on June 25, 2022. Retrieved May 27, 2022.
  35. ^ "Tales of Two Planets: 9780143133926". Penguin Random House. Archived from the original on May 27, 2022. Retrieved May 27, 2022.
  36. ^ "Vanishing World". Grove Atlantic. Retrieved November 24, 2024.
  37. ^ "Convenience Store Woman". Grove Atlantic. Archived from the original on March 7, 2022. Retrieved June 6, 2018.
  38. ^ "Earthlings". Grove Atlantic. Archived from the original on January 28, 2023. Retrieved March 10, 2021.
  39. ^ "Chameleon". Granta. 2018-08-09. Archived from the original on 2022-12-03. Retrieved 2023-01-10.
  40. ^ Murata, Sayaka (December 2, 2019). "The Future of Sex Lives in All of Us". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 16, 2023. Retrieved January 29, 2024.
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