Author Rio Shimamoto's Latest Novel 'Nostalgia' Released! The Shocking Work Breaking the Mold of Romance Novels Receives Endless Endorsements!
Kawade Shobo Shinsha will release Naoki Prize-winning author Rio Shimamoto's latest novel 'Nostalgia' on April 23, 2026. Depicting a profound story of love and pain between a blocked writer and a young man burdened by a dark past, the book is highly praised by prominent figures and booksellers.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: April 23, 2026 at 19:00
- 🔍 Collected: April 23, 2026 at 10:31
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: April 24, 2026 at 03:13 (16h 41m after Collected)
Photography: Yuka Fujisawa
Kawade Shobo Shinsha (Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo / Representative Director: Yu Onodera) will release the feature-length novel "Nostalgia" (price including tax: 1,870 yen) by Naoki Prize-winning author Rio Shimamoto on April 23, 2026.
● A Message from Rio Shimamoto on the Publication
Among the novels I have written since the COVID-19 pandemic, this has probably become my most important work.
Please travel to the end of the world with them through this novel.
● "Nostalgia" Synopsis
Through an acquaintance, novelist Saaya meets a young man named "So" who has just moved to Tokyo. So, whose mother is the perpetrator of a murder case, has lost both his place to live and his job, leading Saaya to temporarily let him stay at her home. At first, their cohabitation seemed to be going well, but bizarre phenomena beyond common sense begin to occur around Saaya. So says, "It's probably my fault," and speaks about his family's faith and his mother's powers, something he had never told anyone before. Meanwhile, Saaya realizes that So is the only person she can talk to about her family, the death of her beloved, and the void in her own heart. The two begin to be drawn to the shadows they each carry—.
● A Must-Read for Rio Shimamoto Fans. A Tale of Love Where Lonely Souls Attract, with Jewels of Words.
(From the text)
"For me, love is something that has already slipped away the moment you think your fingertips have touched it."
"Yes."
"It might be something like a momentary flicker, constantly being lost, something like nostalgia."
Nostalgia, I murmured.
I heard cheers from somewhere in the city.
Perhaps a dead star shot across the sky and vanished.
● Passionate Comments of Support from Celebrities Across Various Fields!
It was fierce. I wanted to save, and I wanted to be saved.
I kept thinking about what I should do.
――Hayako Takase (Author)
The various ways of surviving in an unpredictable era attract the reader.
A world that cannot be dichotomized into perpetrators and victims can only be depicted in literature.
It's a book that makes you feel a mysterious, quiet heat.
――Sayoko Nobuta (Clinical Psychologist)
A fleeting "paradise" rising amidst pain. It's an inescapable light that pierces so hard it might break you.
――It reminded me of Derek Jarman.
――Yukiko Mishima (Film Director)
If only that hadn't happened back then...
The definitive Shimamoto work that continues to depict the imagination of "if" through romance.
――Daisuke Yoshida (Writer)
● Many Voices of Emotion from Booksellers, Too
A story of a new frontier beyond "faith" and "prayer," reached exactly because the author has depicted many "distorted relationships" until now!
──Masaya Noguchi, Miraiya Shoten Kita-Toda Store
A story you'll want to read over and over again.
──Masako Hayashi, Miyawaki Shoten Sakaiminato Store
The past you can do nothing about, the past you could choose, and the future you can choose from now on.
It is an adult romance novel that you probably cannot reach when you are young.
──Norinaga Ohtani, Miraiya Shoten Mito Uchihara Store
I felt a dull ache in my heart or body until I finished reading it.
It was a rare reading experience where it was painful to read, yet I couldn't stop reading.
──Tamiko Mine, Ropponmatsu Tsutaya Bookstore
People can be reborn as many times as they want; I thought so after reading this story.
──Yuka Kumagai, Maruzen Hills Walk Tokushige Store
Among Rio Shimamoto's works, I like this one the best.
──Rieko Iga, Fukuoka Kinbundo Shima Store
I was filled with a gentle sense of relief, as if returning from a long journey.
──Shiori Nishizawa, Kinokuniya Bookstore Tennoji Mio Store
Since her debut in 2001, Rio Shimamoto has continued to depict the subtleties of people's delicate emotions and has won numerous literary awards, including the Naoki Prize. Her narrative worlds, which deeply approach romance, loneliness, and the inner workings of human beings, have been adapted into films and dramas multiple times.
In her latest feature-length novel "Nostalgia," a man and a woman carrying loss, sin, and unspeakable voids meet and are drawn to each other while touching each other's pasts and pain. The depiction of the desperate emotion of seeking the other person even when trying to keep a distance will surely shake the memories of readers across generations.
This work confronts multi-layered themes of harm and victimization, love and forgiveness, and questions the existence of human beings. This work, marking a new frontier for Rio Shimamoto, has drawn voices of amazement and recommendation from various circles, calling it a "shocking work that cannot be confined to the romance novel genre."
Please look forward to the release of her overwhelming latest work, "Nostalgia"!
● Rio Shimamoto
Photography: Yuka Fujisawa
Born in Tokyo in 1983. Debuted in 2001 after winning the Gunzo Prize for New Writers Award of Excellence with "Silhouette."
Won the Noma Literary Prize for New Writers in 2003 for "Little by Little," the Shimase Award for Romance Literature in 2015 for "Red," and the Naoki Prize in 2018 for "First Love." Recent works include "Angels Are Invisible."
Kawade Shobo Shinsha (Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo / Representative Director: Yu Onodera) will release the feature-length novel "Nostalgia" (price including tax: 1,870 yen) by Naoki Prize-winning author Rio Shimamoto on April 23, 2026.
● A Message from Rio Shimamoto on the Publication
Among the novels I have written since the COVID-19 pandemic, this has probably become my most important work.
Please travel to the end of the world with them through this novel.
● "Nostalgia" Synopsis
Through an acquaintance, novelist Saaya meets a young man named "So" who has just moved to Tokyo. So, whose mother is the perpetrator of a murder case, has lost both his place to live and his job, leading Saaya to temporarily let him stay at her home. At first, their cohabitation seemed to be going well, but bizarre phenomena beyond common sense begin to occur around Saaya. So says, "It's probably my fault," and speaks about his family's faith and his mother's powers, something he had never told anyone before. Meanwhile, Saaya realizes that So is the only person she can talk to about her family, the death of her beloved, and the void in her own heart. The two begin to be drawn to the shadows they each carry—.
● A Must-Read for Rio Shimamoto Fans. A Tale of Love Where Lonely Souls Attract, with Jewels of Words.
(From the text)
"For me, love is something that has already slipped away the moment you think your fingertips have touched it."
"Yes."
"It might be something like a momentary flicker, constantly being lost, something like nostalgia."
Nostalgia, I murmured.
I heard cheers from somewhere in the city.
Perhaps a dead star shot across the sky and vanished.
● Passionate Comments of Support from Celebrities Across Various Fields!
It was fierce. I wanted to save, and I wanted to be saved.
I kept thinking about what I should do.
――Hayako Takase (Author)
The various ways of surviving in an unpredictable era attract the reader.
A world that cannot be dichotomized into perpetrators and victims can only be depicted in literature.
It's a book that makes you feel a mysterious, quiet heat.
――Sayoko Nobuta (Clinical Psychologist)
A fleeting "paradise" rising amidst pain. It's an inescapable light that pierces so hard it might break you.
――It reminded me of Derek Jarman.
――Yukiko Mishima (Film Director)
If only that hadn't happened back then...
The definitive Shimamoto work that continues to depict the imagination of "if" through romance.
――Daisuke Yoshida (Writer)
● Many Voices of Emotion from Booksellers, Too
A story of a new frontier beyond "faith" and "prayer," reached exactly because the author has depicted many "distorted relationships" until now!
──Masaya Noguchi, Miraiya Shoten Kita-Toda Store
A story you'll want to read over and over again.
──Masako Hayashi, Miyawaki Shoten Sakaiminato Store
The past you can do nothing about, the past you could choose, and the future you can choose from now on.
It is an adult romance novel that you probably cannot reach when you are young.
──Norinaga Ohtani, Miraiya Shoten Mito Uchihara Store
I felt a dull ache in my heart or body until I finished reading it.
It was a rare reading experience where it was painful to read, yet I couldn't stop reading.
──Tamiko Mine, Ropponmatsu Tsutaya Bookstore
People can be reborn as many times as they want; I thought so after reading this story.
──Yuka Kumagai, Maruzen Hills Walk Tokushige Store
Among Rio Shimamoto's works, I like this one the best.
──Rieko Iga, Fukuoka Kinbundo Shima Store
I was filled with a gentle sense of relief, as if returning from a long journey.
──Shiori Nishizawa, Kinokuniya Bookstore Tennoji Mio Store
Since her debut in 2001, Rio Shimamoto has continued to depict the subtleties of people's delicate emotions and has won numerous literary awards, including the Naoki Prize. Her narrative worlds, which deeply approach romance, loneliness, and the inner workings of human beings, have been adapted into films and dramas multiple times.
In her latest feature-length novel "Nostalgia," a man and a woman carrying loss, sin, and unspeakable voids meet and are drawn to each other while touching each other's pasts and pain. The depiction of the desperate emotion of seeking the other person even when trying to keep a distance will surely shake the memories of readers across generations.
This work confronts multi-layered themes of harm and victimization, love and forgiveness, and questions the existence of human beings. This work, marking a new frontier for Rio Shimamoto, has drawn voices of amazement and recommendation from various circles, calling it a "shocking work that cannot be confined to the romance novel genre."
Please look forward to the release of her overwhelming latest work, "Nostalgia"!
● Rio Shimamoto
Photography: Yuka Fujisawa
Born in Tokyo in 1983. Debuted in 2001 after winning the Gunzo Prize for New Writers Award of Excellence with "Silhouette."
Won the Noma Literary Prize for New Writers in 2003 for "Little by Little," the Shimase Award for Romance Literature in 2015 for "Red," and the Naoki Prize in 2018 for "First Love." Recent works include "Angels Are Invisible."