I made a Japanese-bound book, 'The Eight Yokai of Regional Protection'
I have been working little by little on 'The Eight Yokai of Regional Protection',
and I have now compiled the contents of the materials I gave to my teacher at school the other day into a booklet.
At first, it felt like I would just try making one as a test, but once it was finished, it turned out much more authentic than I had imagined, and I am happy just looking at it myself.
For the method, I referred to this article on note that I introduced previously.
Materials
Most of the materials I used were gathered from 100-yen shops.
・Seria wrapping sheets (washi-style)
・Embroidery thread
・Tape glue
・Copy paper
・Cover title label (printed with a printer)
The 100-yen shop materials were surprisingly excellent and created a great atmosphere. The wrapping sheets and embroidery thread went very well together.
My first Japanese binding experience
This was my first time doing Japanese binding.
Because of the structure, it is said that it is better to have a wider margin on the binding side (the gutter), so this time I decided to be bold and make it wider.
Specifically, I set 12mm from the spine of the cover paper to the binding holes,
and when I set the gutter margin of the body paper to 22mm,
the result was that the text was easy to read and it sat well when opened,
making it a form that is comfortable to read.
Choosing cover colors
The Seria wrapping sheets are 600mm x 750mm in size.
When using them as A5 covers, it worked out well to divide them into 8 parts and cut them to about 300mm x 187mm.
I bought two types: blue-toned and brown-toned. Since they are reversible,
it calculates to being able to make 8 books with 4 colors of covers.
For the front and back covers, I folded the four sides of the wrapping sheet and fixed them with tape glue, then pasted on paper printed with the same background as the body text, folded in half.
A single label on the cover changes the impression
The title paper pasted on the cover, called a 'daisen',
is something I created the data for, printed, and pasted on myself.
Just having this gives it a much more authentic Japanese book feel.
A design that encloses the text in a square makes it look the part.
Choosing thread color
I tried making a few patterns,
but I surprisingly like the white.
The white thread stands out against the colored covers,
and I am sure that in the past, unbleached thread was used more often than dyed thread.
About the sewing method
There were sites that introduced a method of firmly securing the start and end with glue,
but this time I used the method introduced in the article above,
which does not use glue.
I punched holes with an awl and bound it using an embroidery needle and embroidery thread,
and since the initial knot is tucked into the pages near the center of the book,
it is not visible from the outside. At the end, I tied it neatly on the front so it wouldn't be noticeable,
and I buried the knot itself inside the hole along with the thread,
so it is not visible. I was impressed by the ideas of people in the past, thinking how well-made it is.
About the body text
On the inner pages, I have summarized the yokai of each prefecture and
the composition of the guardian yokai that they combine into.
It is a reconfiguration of the printed materials I gave to the school the other day.
By showing it together with a map,
I was conscious of making it so that
one can intuitively understand which place plays which role.
When I actually made it into a booklet,
I felt more of a sense of it being a piece of reading material
than the materials printed on A4.
By the way, for a Japanese-bound book, you bind
A4 paper folded in half, but if I left it as the original print,
the second half of a certain yokai's page would end up
going to the next page,
so I remade it by shifting the content by half.
About the 'Afterword'
I wanted to add elements that would encourage spontaneous and fun learning for children, so I included the following content in the 'Afterword'.
Thank you for reading this far.
The prefectural Yokai that make up the Guardian Yokai have various characteristics, such as their terrain, culture, and local specialties.
Let's think of and give your own '
XX YY Yokai
' name to the prefectural Yokai.For example, in this book, Kanagawa Prefecture was the 'Harbor Tide-Motion Yokai Kanagawa
', but it could also be '
Chinese Food-Joy Yokai Kanagawa' or '
Harbor Town Stylish Yokai Kanagawa'.Furthermore, if you give each of them abilities and roles for when they combine, the Yokai will really come to life.Example:
Chinese Food-Joy Yokai Kanagawa With the power of delicious food, it becomes the right leg that steps forward energetically.
Harbor Town Stylish Yokai Kanagawa
With the sensibility to incorporate foreign culture, it becomes the right leg that controls its own unique walking method.
What characteristics will you focus on?What kind of name will you give them?
What kind of powers will you give them, and what role will they play when they combine?If you look them up in textbooks or books, you might find surprising and interesting characteristics for each prefecture!
Come on, let's go find them!
I think it would be fun for children to look up information in their textbooks or books and think about it themselves with content like this.
In the Eight Yokai Legend, Tochigi Prefecture is the 'Shrine Spirit Tree Yokai Tochigi', but if a child is a glutton, it could be 'Gyoza Sweet Strawberry Yokai Tochigi'.
Regional Guardian Eight Yokai Assembly Diagram
On the last page, I have included an illustration of the eight Guardian Yokai arranged in the shape of the Japanese archipelago.
It turned out to be a perfect way to wrap things up.
With children too
My second-grade daughter wanted to give one as a gift to her homeroom teacher from last year, so she chose the color of the cover paper and the thread herself, and while I taught her how to do it, she pasted and sewed it herself to complete it.
Appearance of the finished product
These are photos of the finished products.
My daughter made one, and I made three.
It takes a little time to get used to making them, but if you like crafts, I think it's quite a fun task.
Thoughts after making them
For now, I am happy that what I had imagined in my mind has properly taken shape.
I hope to continue exploring better forms while making further adjustments.
I also plan to introduce the Japanese-style bound book in an article for the Creative Award 2026 submission.
Other recent news, etc.
Recently, my children gave the Alphabet Monster Picture Book to several of their close friends, and thanks to everyone, it seems to be very well received.
From the mothers of the second graders, I've received several thank-you messages to my wife, such as 'I was anxious because the teacher told us to memorize the alphabet, so I'm happy to receive such a helpful picture book. I think I'm getting hooked on the Origin Words too,' and 'My sixth-grade older brother who loves Pokemon is also very interested, saying, "It's evolution!"', so it was worth making.
Since it is being well received, I am thinking of setting up an online store on BASE soon so that the Alphabet Monster Picture Book can be purchased.
As for the Regional Guardian Eight Yokai Legend, it is difficult to make the Japanese-style bound version, so if I can make a TOLOT version, I will try to make that available for purchase on BASE as well. At the same time, I would like to prepare the image of them assembled in the shape of the Japanese archipelago as a free PDF download.
See you next time!