Shinchosha Co., Ltd. has released Haruki Murakami's latest full-length novel, 'The Tale of KAHO,' simultaneously in hardcover and digital formats on Friday, July 3, 2026. The hardcover edition spans 352 pages, equivalent to approximately 650 manuscript sheets.

Immediately after its nationwide release (excluding Okinawa and remote islands), the book became a major talking point at bookstores across Japan. Just four days after release, Shinchosha has decided to reprint 50,000 copies. The total circulation has now reached 300,000 copies. The second printing is scheduled to arrive at bookstores from late July to early August.

Based on the 'KAHO' series, which was serialized in four parts in Shinchosha's monthly magazine 'Shinchō' from the June 2024 issue to the March 2026 issue, this novel has been revised and expanded. For the first time in Murakami's full-length fiction, it features a female protagonist as the sole central character.

Message from Haruki Murakami

KAHO, the picture book illustrator, is an utterly ordinary young woman.

Yet, a wide variety of

strange events begin to unfold around her.

In writing this novel, I became her.

—Haruki Murakami

Synopsis

"Honestly, you're the first ugly person I've ever met like this."

Twenty-six-year-old picture book illustrator KAHO is suddenly told this by a man she's just met.

Not particularly beautiful or intelligent, but simply quite curious, she is not angry or shocked—but purely, deeply surprised. —What on earth is this man trying to tell me? Yet, from that moment on, a wide variety of strange events begin to happen around her.

Chapter One: KAHO and the Man on the Motorcycle Chapter Two: The Arigui in Musashino

Chapter Three: KAHO and the Termite Queen

Chapter Four: Guardian Angel, Elephant's Egg, and Scarlett Johansson

Preview the opening chapter here

Author Biography

Haruki Murakami (born 1949 in Kyoto) graduated from the First Faculty of Literature at Waseda University. He made his literary debut in 1979 with 'Hear the Wind Sing' (winner of the Gunzō Prize for New Writers). His major novels include 'A Wild Sheep Chase' (Noma Prize for New Writers), 'Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World' (Yoshikawa Eiji Prize), 'Norwegian Wood,' 'The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle' (Yomiuri Literature Prize), '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.' He has also published numerous short story collections such as 'Firefly, Burning the Hay Barn, and Other Stories,' 'After the Quake,' and 'Tokyo Tales,' as well as essays and translations. Awards include the Franz Kafka Prize (2006), Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award (2006), Jerusalem Prize (2009), Premi Internacional Catalunya (2011), Hans Christian Andersen Literature Award (2016), Premio Nonino (2022), and the Princess of Asturias Award for Literature (2023).

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

Book Details

[Title] The Tale of KAHO

[Author] Haruki Murakami

[Release Date] July 3, 2026

[Binding] Hardcover with dust jacket

[Price] ¥2,860 (tax included)

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

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

FACT BOX

  • Source: PR TIMES
  • Category: New Product