CultureGuest UserApril 23, 2023japanese, subculture, original, culture, japan, art, design, in the miso soup, novel, ryu murakami

In the Miso Soup: Friendship Blooms in Blood

CultureGuest UserApril 23, 2023japanese, subculture, original, culture, japan, art, design, in the miso soup, novel, ryu murakami

It’s not every day that we come across books that have us in a chokehold with how stressful and violent they are.

Just when you thought horror was best executed visually, In the Miso Soup will trample and wrangle you more than any gory B-movie. It’s definitely not the scariest novel available, but that’s beside the point: once you finish it, you will be convinced that, in fact, perfect books do exist.

In the Miso Soup is a well-known title in the Western market for Japanese Novel. Written by none other than the master of disillusion, disinhibition, and thrill, Ryu Murakami, this book is a nail-biting story about an unsettling American tourist in the red-light district of Kabukicho.

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Frank is visiting Japan with an interest in sexual tourism. However, he’s much more offputting than an average creep. Kenji is hired to be his guide in this illicit business, but through some alarming coincidences, he starts to fear for his life as he discovers the hardly concealed penchant that Frank has for gruesomeness. Slowly escalating into bloodcurdling scenes, Kenji has no other option but to put his trust in Frank in order to survive.

Ryu Murakami has won the Yomiuri Prize in 1997 with this one. Also known as “the other Murakami” [in comparison to the famous author Haruki Murakami], he has written several other hits like Almost Transparent Blue and Coin Locker Babies. In the Miso Soup reads like a short thriller but points out the danger and abuse that sex workers face daily: a topic unexplored in Japanese society. Murakami in turn explores sexual taboos, the conjunction between sexuality and violence, and the fear of the unknown.

But beyond socio-political themes, In the Miso Soup will surprise you with its beauty and effervescence. It’s quite devourable, and though the novel is closer to being “vintage” than anything else, it’s still fresh and corresponds to today’s actualities. It’s s is a fantastic introduction to Japanese literature, and regardless of its short length, it is still packed with substance and every page is addictive.