Japanese Bookbinding: Instructions from a Master Craftsman

A third-generation traditional bookbinder gives easy-to-follow instructions for making all the major, historically important styles of Japanese bindings as well as traditional book cases—the custom-made folding boxes that afford handsome protection for Japan's exquisite books.

The authoritative text, written by one of Japan's leading professional bookbinders, has been fully adapted for Western readers. Both American and Japanese suppliers of traditional tools and materials are provided and substitutes are recommended for items not readily available.

For centuries the West has admired Japanese books, but only now can we make them ourselves and take full advantage of their creative possibilities. Stunning and practical, these bindings are ideal for preserving calligraphy, letters, artwork, and poems, for adding a distinctive touch to limited-edition books, and for use as diaries or gifts.

Kojiro Ikegami, third generation in a line of professional bookbinders, is one of the few full-time practitioners of the craft in Japan. He has repaired innumerable antiquarian books, many designated as national treasures or important cultural properties, at his workshop in the Tokyo National Museum. In 1979 he received a distinguished government award—the Sixth Class Order of the Rising Sun—for his contribution to the conservation of significant books in Japan's history. Recently retired, he is succeeded by his son Yukio, who continues the family profession at the museum workshop and at their home studio in Tokyo.