[Shino Sakuragi's Latest Book] Autograph Events Announced for 'Ijou ni Arazu', a Novel Exploring the Truth and Human Drama Behind the Mitsubishi Bank Hostage Incident!
Shino Sakuragi's new novel 'Ijou ni Arazu', based on the Mitsubishi Bank hostage incident, will be released on April 22. Autograph sessions and talk events will be held in Osaka and Hokkaido.
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- 📰 Published: April 15, 2026 at 20:00
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"I am not mentally abnormal. I just don't know morality and right or wrong," the man said a few hours before he was shot to death. The Showa era's eternal "unsolved case," the Mitsubishi Bank hostage incident. Shino Sakuragi's deeply committed full-length novel "Ijou ni Arazu" (Not Abnormal), which closes in on the "truth" sleeping in that reality, will finally be published on Wednesday, April 22. Upon publication, events have been decided at Kinokuniya Bookstore Umeda Main Store in Osaka, the setting of the story, as well as at Ebetsu Tsutaya Bookstore and Kushiro Central Library in Hokkaido, the author's birthplace!
■ Kinokuniya Bookstore Umeda Main Store Autograph Session
To commemorate the publication of "Ijou ni Arazu" (Shinchosha), an autograph session with Shino Sakuragi will be held!
Date and Time: Saturday, April 25, 2026, 14:00-
Location: Kinokuniya Bookstore Umeda Main Store, Special Venue next to Counter 2.
How to participate: Numbered tickets will be distributed at Counter 2 to the first 100 people who pre-order or purchase the book "Ijou ni Arazu" (Shinchosha) at the Kinokuniya Bookstore Umeda Main Store.
Inquiries: Kinokuniya Bookstore Umeda Main Store 06-6372-5821 (10:00-21:00)
* Reservations for numbered tickets are accepted at the store or by phone.
* Distribution of numbered tickets is limited to one per person.
* Those who reserved or put the item on hold by phone should purchase the product at Counter 2, exchange it for a numbered ticket, and then come to the venue.
* The autograph session is scheduled to start at 14:00, but the gathering times are finely divided between 13:45 and 15:15. The time slot will be guided at the time of reception, but you cannot choose your participation time.
■ Ebetsu Tsutaya Bookstore Talk Event & Autograph Session
To commemorate the publication of "Ijou ni Arazu", the latest book by Ebetsu-resident author Shino Sakuragi, an autograph session will be held.
Date and Time: Sunday, May 10, 2026, 14:00 - 15:00
Location: Kurashi-no-mune Community Park
How to participate in the autograph session: Held after the talk live. Target audience are those who purchased "Ijou ni Arazu" at Ebetsu Tsutaya Bookstore.
Participation fee: Free
Reservation: Not required
* Purchase receipt is required.
Furthermore, this year marks the "20th Anniversary" year of Shino Sakuragi's publication debut, and in her hometown of Kushiro City, Hokkaido, the "Shino Sakuragi New Book Publication & 20th Anniversary Exhibition" is currently being held at the Kushiro City Central Library Exhibition Room (from April 11 to April 23). Also at the same library, a "Shino Sakuragi Talk Event" commemorating the publication of "Ijou ni Arazu" is scheduled to be held from 10:30 am on Saturday, May 16! It seems Kushiro will be bustling as if it were Shino Sakuragi's "Spring Festival."
■ Author's Comment
"As I approached the end, I hit upon the fact that both wise men and criminals are equally born of women. From there, I think it became a time to look back on my own path as a single human being and as a mother."
■ Book Content
The worst bank hostage taker. Was it his mother, women, society, or himself that drove him? The author, who has continued to portray parents, children, and people in works like "Hotel Royal" and "Kazoku Jimai" (Family Closure), challenges the ultimate and closes in on the truth in this full-length novel.
■ Author Introduction: Shino Sakuragi
Born in Hokkaido in 1965. Won the All Yomimono New Writer's Prize for "Yukimushi" in 2002, the Shimase Award for Love Literature for "Loveless" in 2013, the Naoki Prize for "Hotel Royal" in the same year, and the Chuo Koron Literary Prize for "Kazoku Jimai" in 2020. Has written numerous other books including "Hyoheigen", "Sajou", "Futarigurashi", "Hi no Kawa", "Kocho no Shiro", "Heroine", "Tani kara kita Onna", and "Jinsei Gekijo".
■ Book Data
[Title] Ijou ni Arazu
[Author Name] Shino Sakuragi
[Release Date] Wednesday, April 22
[Binding] 46 format hardcover
[Price] 2,750 yen (tax included)
[ISBN] 978-4-10-327727-9
[URL] https://www.shinchosha.co.jp/book/327727/
■ Kinokuniya Bookstore Umeda Main Store Autograph Session
To commemorate the publication of "Ijou ni Arazu" (Shinchosha), an autograph session with Shino Sakuragi will be held!
Date and Time: Saturday, April 25, 2026, 14:00-
Location: Kinokuniya Bookstore Umeda Main Store, Special Venue next to Counter 2.
How to participate: Numbered tickets will be distributed at Counter 2 to the first 100 people who pre-order or purchase the book "Ijou ni Arazu" (Shinchosha) at the Kinokuniya Bookstore Umeda Main Store.
Inquiries: Kinokuniya Bookstore Umeda Main Store 06-6372-5821 (10:00-21:00)
* Reservations for numbered tickets are accepted at the store or by phone.
* Distribution of numbered tickets is limited to one per person.
* Those who reserved or put the item on hold by phone should purchase the product at Counter 2, exchange it for a numbered ticket, and then come to the venue.
* The autograph session is scheduled to start at 14:00, but the gathering times are finely divided between 13:45 and 15:15. The time slot will be guided at the time of reception, but you cannot choose your participation time.
■ Ebetsu Tsutaya Bookstore Talk Event & Autograph Session
To commemorate the publication of "Ijou ni Arazu", the latest book by Ebetsu-resident author Shino Sakuragi, an autograph session will be held.
Date and Time: Sunday, May 10, 2026, 14:00 - 15:00
Location: Kurashi-no-mune Community Park
How to participate in the autograph session: Held after the talk live. Target audience are those who purchased "Ijou ni Arazu" at Ebetsu Tsutaya Bookstore.
Participation fee: Free
Reservation: Not required
* Purchase receipt is required.
Furthermore, this year marks the "20th Anniversary" year of Shino Sakuragi's publication debut, and in her hometown of Kushiro City, Hokkaido, the "Shino Sakuragi New Book Publication & 20th Anniversary Exhibition" is currently being held at the Kushiro City Central Library Exhibition Room (from April 11 to April 23). Also at the same library, a "Shino Sakuragi Talk Event" commemorating the publication of "Ijou ni Arazu" is scheduled to be held from 10:30 am on Saturday, May 16! It seems Kushiro will be bustling as if it were Shino Sakuragi's "Spring Festival."
■ Author's Comment
"As I approached the end, I hit upon the fact that both wise men and criminals are equally born of women. From there, I think it became a time to look back on my own path as a single human being and as a mother."
■ Book Content
The worst bank hostage taker. Was it his mother, women, society, or himself that drove him? The author, who has continued to portray parents, children, and people in works like "Hotel Royal" and "Kazoku Jimai" (Family Closure), challenges the ultimate and closes in on the truth in this full-length novel.
■ Author Introduction: Shino Sakuragi
Born in Hokkaido in 1965. Won the All Yomimono New Writer's Prize for "Yukimushi" in 2002, the Shimase Award for Love Literature for "Loveless" in 2013, the Naoki Prize for "Hotel Royal" in the same year, and the Chuo Koron Literary Prize for "Kazoku Jimai" in 2020. Has written numerous other books including "Hyoheigen", "Sajou", "Futarigurashi", "Hi no Kawa", "Kocho no Shiro", "Heroine", "Tani kara kita Onna", and "Jinsei Gekijo".
■ Book Data
[Title] Ijou ni Arazu
[Author Name] Shino Sakuragi
[Release Date] Wednesday, April 22
[Binding] 46 format hardcover
[Price] 2,750 yen (tax included)
[ISBN] 978-4-10-327727-9
[URL] https://www.shinchosha.co.jp/book/327727/