Why not make a handmade Japanese-style bound notebook?

Are you familiar with Japanese-style binding? Yes, the kind you see in period dramas. The kind used in old-fashioned temple schools.

Actually, Japanese-style bound books are quite easy to make with materials you can find at a 100-yen shop. Moreover, you can create something that is almost identical in construction to what was used in the Edo period. Japanese-style bound books are amazing! Japanese-style bound books are cute!

〇 Recommended for these people, Japanese-style bookbinding!
・Students with time on their hands during a long spring break.
A handmade notebook made from scrap paper for the new semester starting in spring!
・Doujin creators planning to release small-batch copybooks.
Copybooks and saddle-stitched staples are perfectly fine books. However, why not put in a little extra effort and make a Japanese-style bound copybook? Since you can change the color of the cover and the binding thread, you can easily reflect your favorite character's colors or the image of your work in the binding. A book made one by one with heart is precious.

Things to prepare

・Scrap paper (body paper) As much as you want to bind.
・Paper for the front and back covers Use whatever you like. I'll introduce recommendations later.
・Awl 100-yen shop quality is sufficient.
・Glue Not seaweed.
・Cardboard You can also use thin cardboard as a substitute.
・Embroidery needle and thread If you have one, use a blunt-tipped cross-stitch needle. If not, anything is fine.

How to make

① Fold the body paper.
This time, I will use scrap paper I had at home to make a simple memo notebook. Since I want it to be small, I will cut A4 paper in half to make A5.

The size of the book will be what you get when you fold that in half. It's about the same size as a paperback book.

To make a clean crease, it's a good idea to press it with a thick book you have lying around.

② Make a template for the holes.
Next, make a template for the holes where the thread will pass through using cardboard. This time, I used cardboard prepared from a 100-yen shop. If you intend to mass-produce many, it's good to prepare slightly stiffer paper.

Cut it to the same size as the body paper. About 15 cm.

Decide the location of the holes. This time, I will do a four-hole binding, so 1.5 cm from the top and bottom, and the interval between the holes is 4 cm. If the book size is large, you can increase the number of holes. In any case, make the distance from the top and bottom to the first hole equal, and make the distance between the holes equal as well.

Punch holes in the template. Be careful not to hurt your hands!

3. Make the front and back covers.
You can use any paper you like for the front and back covers. It might be nice to use your favorite Japanese paper or similar.
I recommend Seria's wrapping sheets.
They come in many colors and you can make a lot of them, so they are very affordable if you are mass-producing them for things like doujinshi. Since they are reversible, you can even change the colors for the front and back covers! Although they look like Japanese paper, they are sturdy, so it's great that they are resistant to some folding and rubbing.

Cut these 1-2 cm larger on all four sides than the body paper.

Fold them so that they wrap around the body paper.

Remove the body paper. It is best to fold it just slightly larger so that the body paper is not visible when you attach the cover.

Cut the overlapping parts at the four corners diagonally with scissors.

Glue the folded parts down. This completes the front and back covers.

4. Attach endpapers to the front and back covers.
Glue the endpapers to the covers.
Do not apply glue to the entire surface; apply it to the folded edge, the three outer edges, and the center. This is to prevent the paper from becoming limp due to the glue. Leave the loose edges unglued so they don't get sticky when you punch the holes.

It should look like this.

5. Punch the holes.
Align the backing sheet, front cover, back cover, and body paper, and secure them with clips. If you punch the holes on the folded side here, you will end up with a sad Japanese-style book, so make sure to confirm that you are on the loose edge side.

Use an awl to drill holes while aligning with the backing sheet. If there is a large amount of body paper, it is difficult to punch through all at once, so I recommend dividing it into several sections to punch the holes.

It's open.

6. Binding.
Let's bind it.
There are special threads and needles for Japanese-style binding, but they are quite hard to find. So, this time, I will use embroidery thread and an embroidery needle. Some people use button thread. Threads with a twist are stronger and last longer, but unless you are going to use it very roughly, embroidery thread should be sufficient. Please use your favorite thread.
For the length of the thread, take about two and a half times the length of the Japanese-style book you are binding. Since it is 15 cm this time, I bound it with a length of about 75 cm.

Make a knot, and at first, pass the needle through from the inside of a few pages. By doing this, you can hide the end of the thread inside. After that, you just sew it along... but it's a little hard to explain in words.

So, here is a video of my hands at work.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWbKcb9vNGE

This is my first time filming a video, so I am strangely clumsy. There are several easy-to-understand videos on YouTube, so if you find this hard to see, it might be good to look for those.

7. Attach the title slip.
Once you've reached this point, it's finished. Finally, stick on a piece of paper with the title written on it. If you surround the outer frame with a double line, it will look more "authentic."

Arrangement methods to enjoy Japanese-style books even more

Now that the Japanese-style bound book is complete, it's a bit dry as it is. So, I will introduce a few ideas to make it look more like a Japanese-style book.

1. Add a border (kyokaku).
Many printed books have a four-sided frame called a kyokaku. If you use something with a printed kyokaku for Japanese-style binding, it will look more "authentic."

2. Add a column (hashira).
Furthermore, there are cases where a frame called a column is added to the folded part of the pouch binding. You can put the book title here, or in some cases, use one with your own name on it. The decoration where two triangles are joined is called a gyobi (fish tail), and it is said to have been a mark for folding. If you focus on each of these decorations, you can create an even more "authentic" atmosphere.

3. Elaborate on the title slip.
There are various types of title slips, and sometimes there were pictures pasted on them. The photo below is a Japanese-style book I own. The title slip has peeled off, but you can see the burn marks of a vertical rectangle and a square. I can infer that there was probably a picture title slip pasted there.

Something like this.

There are also various ways to arrange it, such as decorating the paper used for the front and back covers!
Try making your own custom spine... or just enjoy looking at how neat they look when lined up...

You could add drawings to the title slip or apply Japanese-style stickers...

You can make Japanese binding surprisingly easily, and it turns out cute too. If there is anything that is unclear, please ask in the comments or on Twitter, and I will answer to the best of my ability.

Let's start your own Japanese binding life too!!

Note)
This article is a note by a casual Japanese book enthusiast who has studied bibliography. Please feel free to point out any mistakes.