Categories
Art Books

Japan by Car

Japan by Car” is a series of illustrations — and soon to be a book — by Japan-based illustrator James Gilleard.

Categories
Books Debaser

The Decagon House Murders

I mentioned that I was reading this book back in December, and although I was quite enjoying it, it got put aside for a while — as often happens when I read books, because of my shitty attention span. I picked it up again this past Sunday, and cruised through the final 100 or so pages, which I enjoyed immensely. This is a terrific mystery novel, and the trick was quite well done — I was far from guessing the ending. Yukito Ayatsuji is my wife’s favorite mystery author, and not only is this his first novel, but it also marked the birth of a return to classic whodunnits in Japanese mystery novel writing. The book also has a great intro that helps explain all of this, as well as an afterword that gives some context. It’s a great translation, and I’ve just started another book by the same publisher (The Moai Island Puzzle).

Categories
Architecture Art Books Design Photography

99+1 Japan

99+1 Japan is a beautiful new guide produced by the Japan National Tourism Organization that takes the form of a website and book (which is also available as a downloadable PDF). The focus here is on art, design, and architecture, and from the browsing I did on the website, the choices are, well, quite choice. I know that my buddy Said Karlsson participated in this, with some of his wonderful photography adorning a few entries. Here’s also a Spoon & Tamago post with more details.

Categories
Books

Big Books

The Big Books series of giant fold-out books for kids by Mao Fujimoto looks fantastic. More details in this Spoon & Tamago post, where they can also be purchased.

Categories
Books Photography

Don’t Go Outside: Tokyo Street Photos

This is a Kickstarter for a photography book by Sean Bonner that I came to late, but I’m glad to see it got funded. Looks like a rather nice project, and I imagine it may become available again once it gets published.

Categories
Books Design

Operation Olympiad

Operation Olympiad is a beautiful hand-stitched book by Alessandro Perini that takes a look at how Tokyo and Japan approached the 1940 Olympic Games. It’s part of the “Missing Games Project,” and you’ll find a video flip-through here. Found via Canvas.

Categories
Books Design Photography

Where They Create: Japan

A new book to lust over, Where They Create: Japan is a collection of what looks like fantastic photo shoots of creative spaces by photographer Paul Barbera. You get a peek inside the studios and work spaces of creatives like Anrealage, Kengo Kuma, Wonderwall, Nendo, Tadao Ando, Tokujin Yoshioka, and Toyo Ito. You can order it here — and here’s a radio interview with Barbera from Monocle.

Categories
Books Design Fashion Stores

Beams Beyond Tokyo

Not only does the new Beams Beyond Tokyo book from Rizzoli look fantastic — a celebration of the brand’s collaborations through the years — I’m also happy to see that my buddy W. David Marx is one of the contributors. These Rizzoli coffee table books tend to be incredibly well made (oh, you know, like that Tokyolife: Art and Design book), and this looks like another one I’d love to pick up.

Categories
Books

Japandemonium Illustrated: The Yokai Encyclopedias of Toriyama Sekien

Hiroko Yoda and Matt Alt are a power couple when it comes to the localization game, and on top of all those books that Matt wrote in his Attack series (that initially shared the same trade dress and publisher as Arcade Mania), the two have now collaborated on a new book, Japandemonium Illustrated, that takes the form of a proper translation of the yokai encyclopedias of Toriyama Sekien. It looks like a fantastic book, and is available through Amazon.

Categories
Art Books Games

Our Time Capsule

On top of these great illustrations (Mother, Dragon Quest) I’ve been sharing by Amelicart, please note that the illustrator has also recently released an art book called Our Time Capsule (Bokura no Taimu Kapuseru). You can order it online here, and they also support overseas orders.