- 150,000 copies sold in Japan immediately after publication! The first full-length picture book by Shinsuke Yoshitake, a globally beloved author, has been released!
- “The answer to the question ‘What do people live for?’ can change every day.”
- A simple and clear answer for those of you whose minds are clouded and dizzy with worries about life.

It is said that if there are 100 people in the world, there are also 100 different ways of living.
This means that people's lives are diverse and there is no right way to live.
But it's strange.
As we live, it seems that there is a direction and answer that somehow feels like the right answer.
The stages of attending school diligently, graduating, getting a job, getting married, and having children sometimes guide us in the direction of our lives under the name of 'duty,' sometimes 'natural order,' and sometimes 'responsibility.'
Sometimes, we even hear warnings from others, like our parents, friends, or people on social media, saying, "You're going the wrong way."
No matter how much I repeat, "I am me, and others are others!", my heart is helplessly anxious, and worries like, "What should I live for?" and "Is it okay to live like this?" swirl around in my head.
For those suffering from unanswerable worries, author Shinsuke Yoshitake presents his first full-length picture book, "Memen and Mori."
The author, who has humorously and honestly expressed his own perspective on life in works such as "Running Away and Searching," "The World of What If," "If It's Hot, Just Take It Off," and "Even If Your Hair Is This Messy," has become even deeper and clearer in this new book, and the question, "What kind of present are you having?" is contained in the dialogue and story that exchanges direct questions that leave you speechless and affectionate and firm answers.


- “No one knows the future.
So, isn't it okay to live however you want while you're in this world?
- Three cheerful and innocent stories about the lives of the rational older sister 'Memen' and the emotional younger brother 'Mori'.

When do you find yourself wondering about life? At a moment of choice when you have to make a decision? At night when everyone else is asleep? Neither.
So when will we find the answer to that dilemma? The moment the choice is made? Or the end of life? Again, no.
"Clang!" Mori asks, having broken his sister's favorite plate.
'What should I do now that something precious has been broken?'
Memen answers.
'are you okay.
Because everything is destined to break and be lost someday.'
One day, Mori, who had been watching a boring movie, asks again.
'What if my life is full of trivial things?'
Then Memen answers again.
'are you okay.
We don't live to have fun.'


When the younger brother Mori, who represents emotion, asks a question with a confused mind, the older sister Memen, who represents reason, gives a calm and clear answer.
If a plate breaks, you can cherish the time you spent together and make a new plate. If you don't know what to live for, you can just move on from the present moment without knowing.
So the two of them are lost in thought for a moment about nothing, and then they find the answer as if nothing happened and continue their conversation.
This is exactly how the writer sees life.
The solution to your worries is simpler than you think, but the answer is always in the 'now', so just be true to your current mood.

- “We are not characters trapped in a movie.
“The audience can choose the movie they want to see.”
- A powerful message that the most important thing is not the past or the future, but the 'now'.

The author's message that all questions and answers lie in the 'now' is, in fact, already blatantly revealed in the title.
The original title, "Memento Mori", is pronounced the same as "Memento Mori", which was said to have been shouted at the general who returned victorious.
This saying, meaning 'Remember your own death,' is said to contain the ancient Roman view of life: 'No matter how great your accomplishments, you are ultimately a being headed toward death, so always be humble.'
If we constantly recognize that our lives will end, wouldn't each day become more precious? Rather than worrying about things that haven't even happened, shouldn't we focus our energy on things that have already happened? Whether it's joyful or sad, surprising or unthinkable, shouldn't we be true to the emotion of the moment and do what we can?

As I read stories containing various authors' perspectives on life, I feel like my mind is quite lightened as I grasp a clue to the answer, even if it's not the right answer.
And you'll find yourself reciting the title again, recalling phrases like "Amor fati (love your fate)", "Que sera sera (whatever happens will happen)," and "Carpe diem (live in the moment)".