Shinchosha Publishing Co., Ltd. is pleased to announce the simultaneous release of Haruki Murakami's latest full-length novel, "Kaho: The Tale of KAHO," in hardcover and e-book formats today, July 3, 2026. The hardcover edition will be 352 pages, comprising 650 manuscript pages in total, and will be released as a single volume.

This novel is an expanded and revised version of the "Kaho" series, which was serialized in Shinchosha's monthly magazine "Shincho" in four installments from the June 2024 issue to the March 2026 issue. It marks the first time in Haruki Murakami's full-length works that the story features a solo female protagonist.

Message from Haruki Murakami

Kaho, a picture book author, is a perfectly ordinary young woman.

Yet, all sorts of strange things begin to happen around her.

In this novel, I wrote from her perspective.

-- Haruki Murakami

[First Edition Limited] Bookstore Purchase Bonus Sticker

* Image is a sample.

To commemorate the release of "Kaho: The Tale of KAHO," a sticker designed with motifs from the work will be distributed as a first-edition bonus to customers who purchase the book at bookstores.

The stickers, featuring an "anteater" and a "jaguar" that appear in the story, are each 1 sheet and are contained on a backing paper measuring 90mm (height) x 125mm (width). They are die-cut, allowing each sticker to be peeled off the backing paper separately. In addition to using them as stickers after peeling them off the backing, you can also cut out just the sticker part and place it inside a smartphone case.

* Image is a sample.

Stickers are scheduled to be distributed at approximately 3,000 bookstores nationwide. As this is a first-edition bonus, quantities are limited and distribution will end once supplies are exhausted.

* "Kaho" will be released simultaneously nationwide on July 3 (Fri) (excluding Okinawa and remote islands). Distribution of the bonus stickers will also begin on July 3 (Fri). * One sheet of bonus stickers will be given for each copy of the book purchased at a bookstore (1 sheet contains 1 anteater sticker and 1 jaguar sticker / distribution ends when supplies are exhausted). * Some bookstores may not offer the bonus sticker distribution. * The planned quantity and distribution method for the bonus stickers will vary by bookstore. * Bonus stickers will not be distributed at online bookstores or e-commerce sites.

Synopsis

"Honestly, I've never met anyone as ugly as you before."

Kaho, a 26-year-old picture book author, was told this by a man she had just met.

Not exceptionally beautiful or intelligent, but merely a little curious, she was not angry or shocked, but purely surprised. -- What is this man trying to say? However, after that, all sorts of strange things begin to happen around her.

Chapter 1: Kaho and the Man on the Motorcycle Chapter 2: The Anteater of Musashikoi

Chapter 3: Kaho and the Termite Queen

Chapter 4: Guardian Angel, Elephant Egg, and Scarlett Johansson

Read a sample here

Author Profile

Haruki Murakami (born 1949 in Kyoto). Graduated from Waseda University, Faculty of Letters, Department of English Literature. Debuted in 1979 with "Hear the Wind Sing" (Gunzo Newcomer Prize for Literature). His major full-length novels include "Pinball, 1973" (published with "Hear the Wind Sing"), "A Wild Sheep Chase" (Noma Literary Newcomer Prize), "Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World" (Tanizaki Jun'ichiro Prize), "Norwegian Wood," "The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle" (Yomiuri Prize for Literature), "Sputnik Sweetheart," "Kafka on the Shore," "After Dark," "1Q84" (Mainichi Publishing Culture Award), "Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage," "Killing Commendatore," and "The City and Its Uncertain Walls." His other works include short story collections such as "Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman," "After the Quake," and "Tokyo Tales," as well as essay collections and translations. He has received numerous awards, including the Franz Kafka Prize and the Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award in 2006, the Jerusalem Prize in 2009, the Catalonia International Prize in 2011, the Hans Christian Andersen Literature Award in 2016, the Prix Médicis étranger in 2016, the Jerusalem Prize in 2016, the Prix du Meilleur Livre Étranger in 2016, the World Award for Literature and the Arts of the Principality of Asturias in 2022, and the Princess of Asturias Award for Literature in 2023.

Special Website: https://www.shinchosha.co.jp/special/kaho/ Haruki Murakami Shinchosha Official Website: https://www.shinchosha.co.jp/harukimurakami/

Book Data

[Title] Kaho: The Tale of KAHO

[Author] Haruki Murakami

[Release Date] July 3, 2026

[Binding] Hardcover with dust jacket, round spine

[Price] 2,860 yen (tax included)

[ISBN] 978-4-10-353440-2

[URL] https://www.shinchosha.co.jp/special/kaho/

FACT BOX

  • Source: PR TIMES
  • Category: 出版