In the Miso Soup
 First edition | |
| Author | Ryu Murakami |
|---|---|
| Original title |
イン ザ・ミソスープ In za Misosūpu |
| Translator | Ralph McCarthy |
| Country | Japan |
| Language | Japanese |
| Genre | Philosophical novel |
| Publisher | Yomiuri Shimbun |
Publication date | 1997 |
| Media type | Print (Paperback) |
| Pages | 192 pp (UK paperback edition), 216 pp (US paperback edition) |
| ISBN |
0-14-303569-X (US) 0-74757-888-5 (UK) |
| OCLC | 61520482 |
| 895.6/35 22 | |
| LC Class | PL856.U696 I513 2006 |
| Preceded by | Kyoko |
| Followed by | Strange Days |
In the Miso Soup (イン ザ・ミソスープ In za Misosūpu) is a novel by Ryu Murakami. It was published in 1997 in Japanese, and in English in 2003. The novel won the Yomiuri Prize for Fiction in 1997.
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 American named Frank, who seeks three nights of his services. While Kenji has promised to spend more time with his girlfriend, sixteen-year-old Jun, the money is too good to pass up. He finds himself closing out the end of the year accompanying Frank around Shinjuku, wondering if his strange, plastic-skinned patron could be responsible for the gruesome events recently reported in the news.
Characters
Major characters
- Kenji: A nightlife guide based in Tokyo. He is an average English speaker who specializes in touring foreigners through Kabuki-cho. As mentioned, Kenji is the narrator of the story.
- Frank: An American tourist who contracts Kenji's services. Frank disturbs Kenji from the outset, and is the antagonist.
Minor characters
- Asami/Madoka: A "special services" hostess at a peep show.
- Jun: Kenji's sixteen year-old girlfriend.
- Maki: Female patron/prostitute at the omiai pub. She claims to not be a prostitute, but also claims to be a high price call girl.
- Noriko: A tout for the omiai pub and former juvenile delinquent.
- Reika & Rie: Two lingerie pub hostesses.
- Satoshi: A lingerie club barker and acquaintance of Kenji's.
- Yokoyama: Publisher of Tokyo Pink Guide. The only publication Kenji advertises in, and Frank's sex industry bible.
- Yuko: Female patron/prostitute at the omiai pub. She is seated with Frank, Kenji, and Maki.