Bookbinding in Japan! Books that fit in the palm of your hand ⟡ Awl About Bookbinding, Ep. 2

Bookbinding in Japan! Books that fit in the palm of your hand ⟡ Awl About Bookbinding, Ep. 2

I’m stepping out of my studio, and into the real world to connect with the artists and bookbinders who inspire me. Come along on the bookish field trips I’ve always dreamt of as we learn “awl” about bookbinding. This episode comes to you from Tokyo, Japan a city that welcomes you with an explosion of color, light, and creativity. I love how traditional Japanese culture is seamlessly woven into a fast-paced modern city. Learning about its deep history of papermaking made me really curious about Japanese bookbinders. I’m on my way to visit an award-winning bookbinder and book artist who’s been making fine miniature books for 20 years. I’m so excited for you to meet Miyako Akai. Wow. So beautiful. Thank you. Is the story based on your own experiences of traveling? Yeah Ah okay, a little bit of fantasy. A little bit. It makes me feel nostalgic, I guess, like sentimental. Sentimental. Right, feels familiar. Yeah. Wow. I love this one. So magnets are here, in the middle. Here and there. There’s a little bit of shimmery… like shine to it. So this is a case binding. Oh I like that that one’s a little different. So what made you go with a hardcover design? And this is the exact same text. Can I open this? Yeah, please. One more One more? Yes Yeah, yeah Because if you just finished it like the front, it would be a little too simple. This is so thoughtful. I like that the title is a gradient. Wow. So is this the raindrop paper? Ah yes. When the paper is wet, they drop water on here and then the fiber dries like that. So special. Yeah And then these are raindrops. Glass. Yeah Lots of texture in this one. Yeah Ooh this one’s nice. What made you go with this style? Oh the book? Yeah the book. Oh wow! Yes. Hmm good question. Feels so nice. And this is one of the first copies? Yes. Wow. I’m holding the first copy. Yesterday I– Yesterday you got this. I can’t wait to read it. Congratulations. Thank you. So these three are the original handmade versions, and this is the bookstore version. Hey, I hope you’re enjoying the episode. We’re only halfway through. If you like what you see, consider donating to our crowdfunding campaign to support Awl About Bookbinding. There’s lots more to come, so stay tuned. Like this. Whoa, that’s so cool! Aren’t you scared it’ll fall out? A little heavy, it’s okay. But the Japanese paper is very light. Oh yes. Very convenient. Oh it’s sewn here so I thought it would fall out. But yeah Oh that’s cool. So it is a pocket. Yeah, pocket. I love that. Book pocket. Oh it’s burnt. Cigarette burn. Can I see it? -And washi is soft and strong.
-Washi yeah, Japanese… Yeah very strong. So this one, I fixed it. Japanese binding. And inside is like this. Like numbers, maps. This is like smartphone, in that age. I like that. So everything is inside. How to do everyday things. Yeah. Okay, cool. I have a question about the binding. So when I do Japanese stab binding at home, with a thick book, it’s very hard to punch the holes. How do you do it? Thank you. You’re welcome. Is that also… Ah this one. That’s so interesting ’cause in the West, when a book needs to be rebound, you kind of need a professional and it’s a very complex process. But it’s very interesting that with a Japanese book, almost anyone can rebind it. So you can see this clearly. See this clearly, this side, this side. So it feels quite textured and very soft and delicate, but obviously it’s also strong because it’s lasted this long. And I also really like the edges because they’re folded. Folded edges are stronger than single sheets. Is this – What is that there? Is this a chapter marker? Ah, yeah. It’s chapter marker. Okay, cool. Why washi is ideal for stab binding is because of the softness and the thinness of the washi. This is one of Miyako’s books that she wrote and it’s really beautiful. I found a copy for myself. So we’ll be making a project from this book. So Miyako has kindly cut out a page for us to make today and it’s going to be the little house book. The book includes templates of all these other projects that you can make. So this is very easy. Just cut this line. Cut, cut. Okay. Okay. So you can see this page number 6, 7. The next should be this line, 4. Fold like this. Then you make holes. What color do you like? Let’s do blue. Blue, okay. Okay. Oh okay, stretch parallel. One more? One more. So cute. Aww. Did you make the stamps? -That’s awesome. Thank you!
-This is for you. Thank you. I have something for you too. I made this little box with hand marbled paper. Wow. And then I learned this structure from the artist Insiya Dhatt, who lives in San Francisco. I see. You can kind of stand like… Yeah, it’s inspired by your work. Yeah, I wanted to try making something small. This is a cat, because you have a cat. -And this is a dog, because we like dogs.
-Stamping? I cut by hand. By hand, wow. And then you can kind of twist it closed. Twist to close. So this… Yeah, like a pop-up book. Wow, so beautiful. Thank you! Thank you! -Thank you very much.
-You’re welcome. A heartfelt thank you to Miyako and her family for so warmly welcoming us during our trip to Japan. She has a huge mini book collection that I wish I had more time to see. If you’re interested in purchasing her book, “Notes from a Voyage,” I put the link in the description. It’s a really sweet story. This was episode 2 of Awl About Bookbinding. Please go watch episode 1 if you haven’t yet, where I visit a paper cut book artist and check out a fine binding exhibition and competition in San Francisco. I’m so grateful to all my patrons and donors for making this episode possible. We are a two-person team making this with a lot of heart and passion for bookbinding. Help me reach $10,000 so I can complete season 1 in 2025 and maybe more. Thank you for being here. Look out for the next episode coming soon. Happy bookbinding.

❤️‍🔥 Support our crowdfunding campaign to produce future episodes: https://www.gofundme.com/f/awl-about-bookbinding

Turn on ‘cc’ for translated subtitles!

Miyako is a miniature book artist that I’ve been admiring for years, and it was a dream to visit her in Tokyo. I interview her about her 20-year bookbinding career and check out her exquisite works in person. She combines her love for writing and knowledge in architecture to create highly crafted works of art.

Filmed and edited by Eliot Galán https://www.galanfilms.com/

Check out Miyako’s work here: https://kototsubo.com/minibooks.html
Miyako’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/miyakoakai

Notes from a Voyage book: https://books.rakuten.co.jp/rb/18225542/?variantId=18225542
I purchased the book with this proxy service: https://japanrabbit.com/

LINKS
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