Notice
Morito Beach, Photo by Tomoko Hoshino
Manners Campaign
From January 1, 2026, Tomoko Hoshino, Kamakura City International Tourism Goodwill Ambassador, will participate in the in-station announcement "Manner Up Relay" at JR Kamakura Station. This initiative, aimed at countering overtourism, features individuals connected to Kamakura taking turns each month to promote good manners. The announcement by Tomoko Hoshino will air throughout January, every few 10 minutes during the daytime, so please listen closely.
An interview with Tomoko Hoshino and her artwork will be featured in the Asahi Shimbun's entertainment and film section, "My Favorite Movies" (Friday, November 14, 2025, evening edition, page 3).
She talks the film "Girl with a Pearl Earring" (directed by Peter Webber), inspired by Vermeer's painting, and talks about the psychology of the model, Greer, and the mental world of light and shadow in Vermeer's art. Please also enjoy Tomoko Hoshino's original illustrations inspired by this film.
Kawai Tsuginosuke Memorial Museum 19th Anniversary Commemorative Lecture
A lecture by Tomoko Hoshino, "Etsuko Sugimoto and the Samurai of Nagaoka," will explore the lives of Kawai Tsuginosuke, the senior retainer of the Echigo Nagaoka domain famously depicted in Ryotaro Shiba's novel "The Touge," and Etsuko Sugimoto, daughter of another senior retainer, Heisuke Inagaki. Drawing from Sugimoto's life—who fled Nagaoka after its defeat in the Boshin War, emigrated to America, and eventually authored the English-language bestseller "The Samurai's Daughter"—the lecture explores the enduring samurai spirit and cultural ethos passed down through generations in Nagaoka.
Date & Time: Sunday, December 14, 2025, 1:30 PM ~
Venue: Nagaoka Grand Hotel, Yūkyū no Ma Hall
Capacity: 400 people, Free Admission
Registration Period: November 12 to November 30 *Registration closed due to full capacity
Inquiries & Registration: Kawai Tsugunosuke Memorial Museum, Tel: 0258-30-1525
The 14th Film Festival for Passing on Memories and Records of War - The significance of 80 years since the war's end
The documentary film about a soldier, "The Last Message: 'The Invincible Kamikaze Soldier' Corporal Tomoji Sasaki," will be screened. Following the screening, there will be a talk event featuring Tomoko Hoshino and director Michio Uematsu.
Tokyo, Ikebukuro at Shin-Bungeiza Theater, August 4, 2025
* Ended
The 18th Nagaoka Peace Forum
Commemorative Lecture & Reading for the 80th of the Nagaoka Air Raid
Tomoko Hoshino will give a reading of a memoir written by a woman who experienced the Nagaoka Air Raid on August 1, 1945. This will be followed by a lecture titled "Connecting Hope: From Here in Nagaoka."
Aore Nagaoka, Nagaoka City, Niigata Prefecture, August 1, 2025
* Ended
Information on New Books
Tomoko Hoshino's essay "Tobacco," from her serialized column "New Kamakura: Day by Day," has been included in Best Essays 2025, selected by the Japan Writers' Association.
The essay traces family memories related to war through casual everyday scenes, weaving in prayers for peace.
Published on August 5, 2025
In the Yomiuri Shimbun's front-page column "Editor's Notebook" (morning edition, July 15, 2025), an essay by Tomoko Hoshino titled "Fireworks and I" (featured in "New Kamakura: Day by Day," July issue) was introduced.
It's a short essay about the "bittersweetness" evoked by delicate sparklers, stemming from childhood memories associated with them.
A story of a Nordic fairy and a girl, "The Night of Fiora," featuring Tomoko Hoshino's first fantasy novel.
Tomoko Hoshino's "30 years of Kamakura day to day" included.
* Magazine "Poetry & Fantasy" was founded by the manga artist Takashi Yanase.
Tomoko Hoshino
Kamakura Day by Day
Read essay >
Tomoko Hoshino has been serializing essays since 2024, taking over "Kamakura Day by Day" written by Member of the Japan Art Academy Taku Miki in the magazine "Kamakura Shunju".
