Coin Locker Babies
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 Front cover of the 1995 1st ed. English hardcover |
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| Author | Ryu Murakami |
|---|---|
| Original title | コインロッカー・ベイビーズ |
| Translator | Stephen Snyder |
| Cover artist | Manabu Yamanaka |
| Country | Japan |
| Language | Japanese |
| Genre(s) | Novel |
| Publisher | Kodansha International (JPN) |
| Released | 1980 (1st edition) |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover) |
| Pages | 300 pp (English hardcover 1st edition, May 1995) |
| ISBN | ISBN 4-7700-1590-9 (English hardcover 1st edition, May 1995) |
Coin Locker Babies (コインロッカー・ベイビーズ Koinrokkā Beibīzu?), 1980), a novel by Ryu Murakami, (translated to English by Stephen Snyder) is the surreal story of two boys, Hashi and Kiku, who were both abandoned by their mothers during infancy, both locked in coin lockers at a Tokyo train station in the summer of 1972. Both boys become wards of the Cherryfield Orphanage in Yokohama, where the tough and athletic Kiku comes to the defense of the slight, and often picked on, Hashi. The summer before they are to begin school, an adoption is finally arranged for the boys. Together they head south to their new home on the westcoast of Kyūshū, with their adoptive parents Shuichi and Kazuyo Kuwayama.
At sixteen, Hashi journeys to Tokyo to find his birth mother. Kiku and Kazuyo eventually head north in search of Hashi. The adopted brothers reunite in a quarrantined area of the city called Toxitown, where the eccentric cast of characters continues to grow, and bizarre events continue to occur.
The first English translation was published in 1995 by Kodansha (講談社 Kōdansha) International Ltd.
The Japanese musician Miyavi states that his song "Coinlocker Baby" has no relation to this novel. He never read it.
A film version of the book is currently in production, starring Val Kilmer, Tadanobu Asano and Asia Argento.
"CoinLocker Babies" was the original name of the famous Japanese rock band The Pillows.
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