# Is "Convenience Store Woman" by Sayaka Murata a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata (文藝春秋 Bungeishunjū, Tokyo, 2016) is identified by: Japanese true first: 『コンビニ人間』(Konbini ningen), Bungeishunjū, Tokyo, 27 July 2016; 四六判 hardcover in printed jacket, 160 pp, ISBN 978-4-16-390618-8. The census claim is confirmed, and refined on two points.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Japanese true first: 『コンビニ人間』(Konbini ningen), Bungeishunjū, Tokyo, 27 July 2016; 四六判 hardcover in printed jacket, 160 pp, ISBN 978-4-16-390618-8
- Jacket art is Teppei Kaneuji's (金氏徹平) work "Tower"; book design by Seiji Sekiguchi (関口聖司)
- Identify the first printing from the 奥付 (colophon leaf at the rear), which must read 「2016年7月27日 第1刷発行」 — later printings read 第2刷発行 and upward on the same leaf
- The original 帯 (obi wrapper) should be present; note that the 155th Akutagawa Prize was decided on 19 July 2016, eight days BEFORE publication, so first-printing obi already announce the prize — a prize obi does not mark a later printing
- First English edition: Grove Press (Grove hardcover), New York, 12 June 2018, ISBN 978-0-8021-2825-6, translated by Ginny Tapley Takemori; the first printing carries a complete number line ending in "1" (reported as "18 19 20 21 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1" — single-source, verify against the copy), jacket unclipped with the price at the front flap
- Publisher imprint reads 文藝春秋 Bungeishunjū, Tokyo
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Sayaka Murata |
| Publisher | 文藝春秋 Bungeishunjū, Tokyo |
| Year | 2016 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Japanese true first: 『コンビニ人間』(Konbini ningen), Bungeishunjū, Tokyo, 27 July 2016; 四六判 hardcover in printed jacket, 160 pp, ISBN… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
Japanese true first: 『コンビニ人間』(Konbini ningen), Bungeishunjū, Tokyo, 27 July 2016; 四六判 hardcover in printed jacket, 160 pp, ISBN 978-4-16-390618-8. Jacket art is Teppei Kaneuji's (金氏徹平) work "Tower"; book design by Seiji Sekiguchi (関口聖司). Identify the first printing from the 奥付 (colophon leaf at the rear), which must read 「2016年7月27日 第1刷発行」 — later printings read 第2刷発行 and upward on the same leaf. The original 帯 (obi wrapper) should be present; note that the 155th Akutagawa Prize was decided on 19 July 2016, eight days BEFORE publication, so first-printing obi already announce the prize — a prize obi does not mark a later printing. First English edition: Grove Press (Grove hardcover), New York, 12 June 2018, ISBN 978-0-8021-2825-6, translated by Ginny Tapley Takemori; the first printing carries a complete number line ending in "1" (reported as "18 19 20 21 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1" — single-source, verify against the copy), jacket unclipped with the price at the front flap.

## Is this the true first?
The census claim is confirmed, and refined on two points. (1) The true first BOOK is the Bungeishunjū hardcover of 27 July 2016, but the first appearance in print is earlier still: the novella was published in the June 2016 issue of the magazine 文學界 (Bungakukai) before book publication — that magazine issue, not the book, is the first printing of the text. (2) In English the two 2018 issues are NOT simultaneous: Grove Press (New York) published 12 June 2018, ahead of Portobello Books (London, ISBN 978-1-84627-683-5) on 5 July 2018, and dealers catalogue the Portobello issue as a softcover. The Grove hardcover is therefore the first edition in English. Name the Bungeishunjū 2016 for a Murata collection and the Grove 2018 for a translation collection.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club edition of the Japanese first is documented. In Japan the mass-market reprint is the 文春文庫 bunko paperback (4 September 2018, ISBN 978-4-16-791130-0) — a distinct later issue, not the first; any bunko-format copy is a reprint. The Portobello/Granta softcover (UK) and later Grove Press paperbacks are separate or subsequent issues, not the first English printing.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Convenience Store Woman* by Sayaka Murata a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/convenience-store-woman
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-04.