The Enduring Masterpiece "The Hour of the Star" by the "Virginia Woolf of Brazil" to be Published by Kawade Bunko on July 7th!

Kawade Shobo Shinsha Co., Ltd. (Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo / Representative Director: Yu Onodera) will publish the masterpiece "The Hour of the Star" by Brazil's national writer Clarice Lispector, from Kawade Bunko on July 7, 2026.

● "Miraculous Masterpiece" "The Hour of the Star"

A typist, orphaned and alone, arrives in the slums of Rio from the countryside.

She did not know she was unhappy.

The final, miraculous masterpiece left by the 20th-century giant, who is called the "Virginia Woolf of Brazil" and is mentioned alongside Kafka and Pessoa, capturing the very moment of the novel's genesis.

Winner of the 8th Japan Translation Prize.

Clarice Lispector was a Brazilian writer born in Ukraine during the Russian Civil War in 1920. She moved to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, as an infant, lived abroad in Europe and America for 16 years after reaching adulthood, and passed away at the age of 57 in 1977.

Clarice Lispector © Vicente de Mello

In Japan, in addition to "The Hour of the Star," which won the 8th Japan Translation Prize in 2022 (Selection Committee: Sachiko Kishimoto, Mariko Saito, Motoyuki Shibata, Ken Nishizaki, Miho Matsunaga), the following four books have been published: "An Unexpected Event" (Sofiia no Sainan), "The Stream of Water" (Mizu no Nagare) (all by Kawade Shobo Shinsha), and "The Passion According to G.H." / "Family Ties" (G.H. no Junan / Kazoku no Kizuna) (by Shueisha).

"The Hour of the Star" is the long-awaited first paperback edition in Japan by Lispector, described as the "Virginia Woolf of Brazil" (The Wall Street Journal) and "one of the most enigmatic writers of the 20th century" (Orhan Pamuk).

For this paperback edition, translator Nobuhiro Fukushima has thoroughly revised the translation, and it includes an essay by Lispector's son, Paulo Gurgel Valente, titled "The Intersection of Reality and Fiction," as well as an afterword by writer Ayumi Minakami.

Clarice Lispector, a national writer of Brazil, is mentioned alongside Woolf, Kafka, Joyce, and Pessoa in the history of 20th-century world literature. Please pay attention to the release of the Kawade Bunko edition of "The Hour of the Star," her posthumous work and widely acclaimed as her greatest masterpiece!

● Film "The Hour of the Star 4K" to be Released Nationwide from August 21st!

The film "The Hour of the Star 4K," based on the book "The Hour of the Star," will be released sequentially in theaters nationwide, including Shinjuku Musashinokan and Bunkamura Le Cinema Shibuya Miyashita, starting August 21, 2026 (Fri).

Film poster for "The Hour of the Star 4K"

From the film "The Hour of the Star 4K"

"The Hour of the Star 4K" is a film produced in Brazil in 1985, which won the Silver Bear at the 1986 Berlin International Film Festival, the Best Film award and four other awards at the 1985 Brasilia Film Festival, and was selected as Brazil's entry for the 1986 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. It is a masterpiece shining in the history of Brazilian cinema.

Director Susana Amaral is considered a pioneer among Brazilian female directors, and the film has been selected in recent years as one of the "Top 100 Films in Brazilian Cinema History" and in the BFI's "The Female Gaze: 100 Overlooked Films by Female Directors," with its評価 continuing to expand.

"The Hour of the Star 4K" Official Website: https://alfazbetmovie.com/hoshinotoki/

Enjoy Kawade Bunko's "The Hour of the Star" (990 yen including tax) along with the film, which will have its first public screening in Japan after 40 years!

● Author: Clarice Lispector

Born in 1920. A Brazilian writer. In 1944, she received the Graciliano Ramos Award for "Perto do Coração Selvagem" (Near to the Wild Heart). After living abroad in Europe and America for 16 years, she returned to Rio de Janeiro in 1959. Died in 1977. Other works include "The Hour of the Star," "An Unexpected Event," "The Stream of Water," and "The Passion According to G.H."

Translator: Nobuhiro Fukushima

Born in Niigata Prefecture in 1978. Professor at the Faculty of Letters, Kyoritsu Women's University. Winner of the 8th Japan Translation Prize for Lispector's "The Hour of the Star." Other translated works include Lispector's "An Unexpected Event" (co-translated) and "The Stream of Water," and Mário de Andrade's "Macunaíma." Author of "Snow Falling on Rio de Janeiro" and "Nico's Sea."

● New Release Information

Title: The Hour of the Star (Kawade Bunko)

Author: Clarice Lispector, Translated by Nobuhiro Fukushima

Specifications: Bunko format / 176 pages

Release Date: July 7, 2026

Price: 990 yen (900 yen excluding tax)

ISBN: 978-4-309-46834-1

Cover Design: Akira Sasaki

URL: https://www.kawade.co.jp/np/isbn/9784309209197/

*E-books are scheduled for release in August. Please check individual e-book stores for details.