The official Twitter/X for the upcoming anime film The Keeper of the Camphor Tree has revealed the addition of five new voice cast members. The film will premiere in Japan on January 20, 2026.
The five new cast members have been added in undisclosed roles and include (from left to right below):
- • Kenjiro Tsuda
- • Tomokazu Sugita
- • Taku Yashiro
- • Reina Ueda
- • Nobuo Tobita
© 東野圭吾／アニメ「クスノキの番人」製作委員会
They join a previously announced voice cast that stars:
- • Fumiya Takahashi as Reito Naoi
- • Yuki Amami as Chifune Yanagisawa
- • Asuka Saito as Yumi Saji
- • Ryubi Miyase as Soki Oba
- • Takao Osawa as Toshiaki Saji
- • Takehito Koyasu as Masakazu Yanagisawa
- • Mio Tanaka as Katsushige Yanagisawa
- • Akira Kamiya as Toichiro Oba
In addition, attendees who watch the anime film in Japanese theaters will receive an exclusive bonus gift, which contains a new original story written by author Keigo Higashino and is titled Kusunoki no Urawaza.
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Tomohiko Ito (Sword Art Online seasons 1-2, Hello World) is directing The Keeper of the Camphor Tree, with Taku Kishimoto (Sakamoto Days series composer) as scriptwriter, Tsubasa Yamaguchi (Blue Period manga artist, SUNTORY Sui Gin “Midori to Utaeba” CM) and Akiko Itagaki (Lonely Castle in the Mirror character design cooperation) as character designers, Hiroshi Takiguchi (Weathering with You, ChaO) as background art director, and Yugo Kanno (Psycho-Pass, Sand Land) as music composer. A-1 Pictures and its Psyde Kick Studio label are handling the film’s animation production.
The original novel by Higashino (released in Japan under the title Kusunoki no Bannin) was published by Jitsugyo no Nihon Sha in hardcover format in March 2020, before being released in paperback in 2023. An English translated version of the novel by Jordan Taylor will be released by Little, Brown Book Group’s Abacus imprint in June 2026.
Higashino has previously published several works in the mystery genre such as his Detective Galileo novel series that include The Devotion of Suspect X and Salvation of a Saint. He has also written the novels Naoko, Journey Under the Midnight Sun, and The Miracles of the Namiya General Store. All the books have been released and translated into English.
Higashino’s novels have also inspired several Japanese and foreign live-action adaptations, including The Miracles of the Namiya General Store and Himitsu.
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Abacus describes the main synopsis of The Keeper of the Camphor Tree novel on Amazon as:
When a run of bad luck lands Reito in prison, about to be sentenced, a distant aunt he has never met offers him a surprising way out: he must become the next keeper of the camphor tree.
In his strange new job, Reito welcomes the people coming by nightfall to commune with the tree, all of whom are lost and all in need of something. There is the stern, middle-aged man who hums to the tree for hours; and his glamorous daughter, who has been secretly following him. Then there is the rich, disaffected young man who seems to come grudgingly, with no faith that the tree will even help.
What is the secret of the camphor tree? Can its power be more than just a myth?
Reito begs his aunt Chifune to explain, but she assures him that when he is ready for them, the answers will come to him.
Sources: The Keeper of the Camphor Official Twitter (2), Anime News Network
