Abstract
Murakami Ryū and Japan’s Lost Decad
 While the Japanese writer Murakami Ryūs earlier works are concerned with shock and boredom, his works from the 1990’s display an interest in apocalyptic fantasies in order to start society afresh. This article examines two of these novels – Popular Hits of the Showa Era (1994) and In the Miso Soup (1997) – and discusses this tendency in the context of Japan’s Lost Decade, the economic depression that began in the early 90’s and has continued into this millenium. Drawing upon Martin Heidegger’s notions of Das Man, anxiety and homeliness, the article discusses how the novels critique their contemporary society and how they frame possibilities for politics and for a new start.
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