Astral Season, Beastly Season

Astral Season, Beastly Season is the debut novel by Japanese writer Tahi Saihate. The story follows Morishita and Yamashiro, two high-school boys approaching the age in life when they must choose what kind of people they want to be. When their favourite J-pop idol kills and dismembers her boyfriend, Morishita and Yamashiro unite to convince the police that their idol's act was in fact by them. This thrilling novel is a meditation on belonging, the objectification of young popstars, and teenage alienation.

Tahi Saihate is a young, multitalented writer who made her first foray into fiction with Astral Season, Beastly Season. She has received numerous awards, including the Gendaishi Techo Prize for Poetry and the Nakahara Chūya Prize. Her writing has been the inspiration of a movie, a rock song, and a 2018 exhibition by several prominent artists at the OTA Art Museum and Library. In 2019, Tahi had an exhibition of her own visual artwork at the Yokohama Museum of Art.