川口 俊和（かわぐち としかず、1971年–）は、日本の小説家・脚本家・演出家。大阪府出身。演劇の脚本や演出を手がけ、自作の舞台をもとにした小説を2015年に刊行した。過去に戻れるという喫茶店を舞台にした『コーヒーが冷めないうちに』（英題 “Before the Coffee Gets Cold”）では、恋人や家族との間に言い残したことを抱える人々が、再会を求めて店を訪れる。過去で何をしても現実は変わらず、戻っていられるのはコーヒーが冷めるまでという制約のなかで、相手の思いや自分の後悔に向き合う姿を描いた。原作となった舞台は第10回杉並演劇祭大賞を受賞し、小説は2018年に映画化された。また、同じ喫茶店での新たな再会を描く『この嘘がばれないうちに』（英題 “Tales from the Café”）では、亡くなった親友に会いたい男や、母親の葬儀に出られなかった息子など、四組の物語を綴る。取り消せない出来事を変えることではなく、伝えられなかった言葉を交わすことで、その後の人生への向き合い方がどう変わるかを描いている。
Toshikazu Kawaguchi (born 1971) is a Japanese novelist, playwright and theatre director from Osaka. After working in theatre, he adapted one of his own plays into his first novel, published in 2015. Set in a café where customers can travel back in time, “Before the Coffee Gets Cold” follows people seeking another encounter with someone important to them. The café imposes strict conditions: nothing they do in the past will change the present, and they must return before their coffee grows cold. Within these limits, conversations reveal unspoken feelings, misunderstandings and regrets. The original stage production won the grand prize at the 10th Suginami Drama Festival, and the novel was adapted into a Japanese film in 2018. Returning to the same café, “Tales from the Café” presents four further stories, including a man wishing to see a friend who died twenty-two years earlier and a son who missed his mother’s funeral. Rather than allowing characters to undo irreversible events, Kawaguchi gives them a brief opportunity to say what remained unsaid. These encounters explore how acknowledging another person’s feelings can change the way someone lives with a past that cannot be altered.
