Maha Harada's 'A Prayer for a Star' Re-enters Spotlight, Surpassing 220,000 Copies with Special 20th Anniversary Cover!
Maha Harada's short story collection 'A Prayer for a Star' has surpassed 220,000 copies sold, gaining renewed attention with a special Van Gogh cover edition released to commemorate her 20th anniversary as an author. The special cover, featuring Van Gogh's art, has been reprinted three times in one month, drawing unusual interest 13 years after its initial release.
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Maha Harada's short story collection 'A Prayer for a Star' (Jitsugyo no Nihon Sha Bunko) has recently surpassed 220,000 copies. The special Van Gogh cover edition, produced to commemorate Harada's 20th anniversary as an author in March 2026, has garnered exceptional attention, with three reprints in one month, 13 years after its initial release in 2013.
[About the Work]
No matter how difficult the times, the star that is you continues to shine—
Seven stories that look at the hopes and prayers of women living their present, from their 20s to their 50s. Fumika, a popular copywriter, meets an elderly massage therapist at an inn in Dogo Onsen after a business trip. The blind woman, with her elegant speech, begins to recount her tragic wartime romance as a young lady... ('A Prayer for a Star'). Azusa, an unmarried mother, goes to Sado to see crested ibises for an experiential learning trip with her middle school daughter, who is closed off to her... ('Chorus').
[Maha Harada's Comments]
● On her 20th Anniversary
"I've been searching for a star for 20 years. Finally, I found it. Within this book."
● Thoughts on 'A Prayer for a Star'
"This is a collection of irregular serializations I started in 'J Novel' magazine around my third year as an author. At that time, I felt I shouldn't call myself an author yet, and every moment was becoming the flesh and blood for me to become one. I always tried to keep things that moved me during my travels, like sketches, within myself, hoping to turn them into stories someday. Rereading this short story collection brings back those feelings from that time."
● Reason for choosing Van Gogh's 'Starry Night Over the Rhône' for the special cover
"Van Gogh is a special painter to me. I believe he was a person who spent his entire life searching for stars. He might have thought, 'I've been searching for stars so much, but where are they?' But in reality, he had already found many stars and left many stories in this world. From the many stars he left behind, I want to find just one. I also want readers to find their own stars, so I told the editor, 'This painting is absolutely the one.'" (From an interview with Real Sound Book, April 2026)
[Book Information]
'A Prayer for a Star'
・Publication Date: October 4, 2013
・Price: 891 yen (tax included)
・Format: Paperback
・Pages: 304 pages
・Book details website: https://www.j-n.co.jp/books/978-4-408-55145-6/
・Author interview: https://j-nbooks.jp/article/321/
[Author Profile]
Born in Tokyo in 1962. Graduated from Kansai Gakuin University, Faculty of Letters, Department of Japanese Literature, and Waseda University, Second Faculty of Letters, Department of Art History. After working at Itochu Corporation, the Mori Art Museum Preparatory Office at Mori Building, and the Museum of Modern Art, New York, she became a freelance curator and culture writer. In 2005, she won the 1st Japan Love Story Award for 'Waiting for Kahu,' and debuted as an author the following year, 2006. In 2012, she received the 25th Yamamoto Shugoro Prize for 'Canvas of Paradise,' in 2017 the 36th Jiro Nitta Literary Prize for 'Sensei Reach,' and in 2024 the 52nd Izumi Kyoka Literary Prize for 'Saku on the Board.' Her other numerous works include 'The Prime Minister's Husband First Gentleman,' 'Today is a Good Day,' 'God of Cinema,' 'Though We May Drift, We Do Not Sink,' and 'Revolver.'
Author photo by ZIGEN
Maha Harada Official Website 'Maha's Exhibition Room': https://haradamaha.com/
[About the Work]
No matter how difficult the times, the star that is you continues to shine—
Seven stories that look at the hopes and prayers of women living their present, from their 20s to their 50s. Fumika, a popular copywriter, meets an elderly massage therapist at an inn in Dogo Onsen after a business trip. The blind woman, with her elegant speech, begins to recount her tragic wartime romance as a young lady... ('A Prayer for a Star'). Azusa, an unmarried mother, goes to Sado to see crested ibises for an experiential learning trip with her middle school daughter, who is closed off to her... ('Chorus').
[Maha Harada's Comments]
● On her 20th Anniversary
"I've been searching for a star for 20 years. Finally, I found it. Within this book."
● Thoughts on 'A Prayer for a Star'
"This is a collection of irregular serializations I started in 'J Novel' magazine around my third year as an author. At that time, I felt I shouldn't call myself an author yet, and every moment was becoming the flesh and blood for me to become one. I always tried to keep things that moved me during my travels, like sketches, within myself, hoping to turn them into stories someday. Rereading this short story collection brings back those feelings from that time."
● Reason for choosing Van Gogh's 'Starry Night Over the Rhône' for the special cover
"Van Gogh is a special painter to me. I believe he was a person who spent his entire life searching for stars. He might have thought, 'I've been searching for stars so much, but where are they?' But in reality, he had already found many stars and left many stories in this world. From the many stars he left behind, I want to find just one. I also want readers to find their own stars, so I told the editor, 'This painting is absolutely the one.'" (From an interview with Real Sound Book, April 2026)
[Book Information]
'A Prayer for a Star'
・Publication Date: October 4, 2013
・Price: 891 yen (tax included)
・Format: Paperback
・Pages: 304 pages
・Book details website: https://www.j-n.co.jp/books/978-4-408-55145-6/
・Author interview: https://j-nbooks.jp/article/321/
[Author Profile]
Born in Tokyo in 1962. Graduated from Kansai Gakuin University, Faculty of Letters, Department of Japanese Literature, and Waseda University, Second Faculty of Letters, Department of Art History. After working at Itochu Corporation, the Mori Art Museum Preparatory Office at Mori Building, and the Museum of Modern Art, New York, she became a freelance curator and culture writer. In 2005, she won the 1st Japan Love Story Award for 'Waiting for Kahu,' and debuted as an author the following year, 2006. In 2012, she received the 25th Yamamoto Shugoro Prize for 'Canvas of Paradise,' in 2017 the 36th Jiro Nitta Literary Prize for 'Sensei Reach,' and in 2024 the 52nd Izumi Kyoka Literary Prize for 'Saku on the Board.' Her other numerous works include 'The Prime Minister's Husband First Gentleman,' 'Today is a Good Day,' 'God of Cinema,' 'Though We May Drift, We Do Not Sink,' and 'Revolver.'
Author photo by ZIGEN
Maha Harada Official Website 'Maha's Exhibition Room': https://haradamaha.com/