The purpose of writing The Guardian of Prayers is to wish that readers can face tomorrow with hope, and I hope this book can uplift people's spirits just a little bit in the current situation. I sincerely pray that The Guardian of Prayers can bring some warmth to readers.
——Higashino Keigo

It reminds us of those important things we were about to forget, and before we know it, we are enveloped in tenderness. Precisely because we live in this era, I hope everyone can read this story.——Japanese Edition Editor

This is a wonderful and heartwarming story. The divine camphor tree under the moonlight always silently guards the voices in everyone's hearts that cannot be told to others. The Guardian of Prayers has the power to help people rediscover the genuine emotions that have become numb in life.——Simplified Chinese Edition Editor

This is a story about a camphor tree that can grant wishes and the people who pray to it with all their hearts. As you read on, you will unconsciously feel a sense of emotion welling up in your heart.————Korean Edition Editor

Once again, Higashino Keigo breaks through readers' expectations with innovative ideas and perspectives, bringing a new representative work that surprises and moves people—The Guardian of Prayers! The sincere and delicate emotions in the book are like moonlight, offering a force that comforts people and allowing us to fully feel the author's gentle heart.——Traditional Chinese Edition Editor

★Rights Sold: Korean, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Turkish, English, French, German!
★Over 1,000,000 copies sold in Japan, creating a huge sensation!
★This work is set to be adapted into an animated film! As the first animated film based on a novel by Keigo Higashino (Director: Tomohiko Ito), it is scheduled for theatrical release in 2026! This is a story about a mysterious camphor tree that is said to “grant wishes when prayed to,” and a young man who becomes its guardian.
★A magical work by Keigo Higashino, a miraculous healing book following “The Miracles of the Namiya General Store”!

The series includes 2 books: "The Keeper of the Camphor Tree" and "The Goddess of the Camphor Tree"

Reito loses his job under unfair circumstances and is arrested for theft.
Thanks to the intervention of his aunt, Chifune, he is released and entrusted with an unusual role: to serve as the guardian of a sacred camphor tree at a local shrine.
This tree is said to possess a mysterious power—it can receive people’s heartfelt thoughts on the night of the new moon, and return them on the night of the full moon.
As Reito tends to the tree and listens to the stories of those who visit, he is forced to confront his own troubled past.
Through this journey, he grows as a person and comes to understand his aunt’s long-hidden emotions, ultimately rediscovering the importance of family bonds.
A timeless, moving tale of second chances and the strength of familial love.

Keigo Higashino

Born in Osaka Prefecture in 1958. Graduated from the Faculty of Engineering at Osaka Prefecture University. Made his literary debut in 1985 with After School, which won the 31st Edogawa Rampo Award. His major literary awards include:

Secret (1999) - 52nd Mystery Writers of Japan Award
The Devotion of Suspect X (2006) - 134th Naoki Prize and 6th Honkaku Mystery Grand Prize
The Miracles of the Namiya General Store (2012) - 7th Chuo Koron Literary Prize
Mugenka (2013) - 26th Shibata Renzaburo Award
When the Prayer Curtain Falls (2014) - 48th Yoshikawa Eiji Literary Award
2019: 1st Noma Publishing Culture Award
2023: 71st Kikuchi Kan Prize

Awarded the Medal of Honor with Purple Ribbon in 2023 for his distinguished contributions to literature through diverse and prolific works.

An enthusiastic snowboarder, he has set several novels at ski resorts, including Platinum Jack, Gale London, Love Gondola, and Snow Smoke Chase. His extensive bibliography also features The Guardian of the Sacred Camphor Tree, Seven Days with a Witch, The Moment You Killed Someone, and Black Showman and the Awakening Women.