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 Person), and the short story "A Clean Marriage." Murata is also known for her frank depictions of adolescent sexuality in work such as Gin iro no uta ( Silver Song) and Shiro-iro no machi no, sono hone no taion no ( Of Bones, of Body Heat, of Whitening City). Many of the themes and character backstories in her writing come from her daily observations as a part-time convenience store worker. Murata's writing explores the different consequences of nonconformity in society for men and women, particularly with regard to gender roles, parenthood, and sex. Murata worked part-time as a convenience store clerk in Tokyo for eighteen years until 2017. It has been translated into more than 30 languages. Konbini ningen has sold over 1.5 million copies in Japan and in 2018 it became her first book to be translated into English, under the title Convenience Store Woman. In 2016 her 10th novel, Konbini ningen ( Convenience Store Person), won the prestigious Akutagawa Prize, and she was named one of Vogue Japan's Women of the Year. 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. Her first novel, Jyunyū ( Breastfeeding), won the 2003 Gunzo Prize for New Writers.
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