Tedorigawa Bookmakers

Ep. 333: A Large Zuihitsu & A Mystery Solved

Bookbinding

Last episode I cased in Our Truckin’ Book but the book boards splayed out as if I had cut them perpendicular to the grain rather than with the grain. This episode, I tore off the cover and repaired it with the proper grain. But the same book cloth so it looks similar.

This week I printed out two copies of Benengeli’s Zuihitsu. One is A5 and one is A6. This week, I cased in the A5 version.

With one experiment that isn’t so experimental except for me. I sliced off the fore edge and I liked it. It made it easier to measure the text block which made it easier to accurately measure the covers. Very useful, although I like the deckle fore edge look as well.

The book cover looks like Italian terracotta roof shingles, the endpapers are a light green, the thread is red, and there’s a colorful chiyogami accent on the front of the book to differentiate it from the back of the book. Clever, no?

It has five signatures and 84 printed pages with five blank pages pulling up the end.

Fiction

Two books were completed this episode. First, Benengeli’s Zuihitsu. A zuihitsu is from the Japanese of the Heian Era (about 1,000 years ago) meaning Following the Brush. Writing whatever the writer wanted to write about. It was coined for Sei Shonagon who wrote The Pillow Book about her life in the Heian court.

Benengeli’s Zuihitsu is similar; writing about anything that fits his fancy, including that Benengeli is mentioned in Don Quixote by Cervantes (written about 400 years ago).

Second, The Dry Watermill Case, a Marsh Mystery. In this episode, Joe and Carmen solve a murder in Seville, Spain and anger some powerful people, so they have to escape to Madrid. 

Talkies

Episode 79 Zuihitsu Large is up and enjoying itself and hoping you can join it. Like zuihitsu in general, it talks about making the book, shopping, music, and new, to me, innovations in bookbinding.

Ep 322: Our Truckin’ Book – Art for and by Us.

Bookmaking

I finished Our Truckin’ Book which is an art book I’m hoping artists will finish. It is 100 pages, A5 in size (half of A4), and blank, of course, for artists to fill up as they wish. Hopefully.

For Our Truckin’ Book to be completed, I need at least one artist’s physical mail address so I can send them a physical ie real book.

The artist will send the book to the next artist and hopefully someday Our Truckin’ Book will be completed. Looking forward to that day.

Also in bookmaking, I finished Benengeli’s Zuihitsu and printed out two copies. One copy is A6 and 145 pages while the other copy is A5 and 80 pages. (A5 being bigger than A6, naturally). The A5 Zuihitsu will be available soon while the A6 will be electronically available just as soon, although it will also be a real book.

Fiction

I finished Benengeli’s Zuihitsu. It has many topics from a recipe for bread, to a murder mystery, to the beginnings of dementia for a cellist, to rants about politics not related to anything going on in the US, to one haiku.

Such is the definition of zuihitsu. By the way, as you might know, Cide Hamete Benengeli is the fictional Arabic historian who, according to Cervantes, wrote Don Quixote.

In other fiction, The Lonely Izakaya Down a Quiet Street is progressing smoothly with a major change or two. First, the male character is getting more screen time. His thoughts about life and death will enter into the narrative; previously, only the female character’s thoughts were being explored.

Second, the name might be changed. The current title looks too much to me to be something called a "light" novel in Japan which British and American publishers call a "young adult" novel. I might change to Sakaba which means a bar mostly with saké.

The Talkies

TDGB 78 Our Truckin’ Book is up at YouTube for your audio and visual pleasure. Learn about contributing to Our Truckin’ Book and about what Kanazawa people (Kanazawans?) call Marubi.

Ep. 331: A Shinkansen Vacation

Bookbinding

I went to Tokyo for four days. Before that, I finished a client’s hardcopy of The Briefcase Case. I presented it to the client in Tokyo. Other than making that particular book, I didn’t make any other as I was busy going to and from Tokyo by shinkansen.

Fiction

I’ve got three bits of fiction floating around my computer and brain. 

One: Zuihitsu. It has two plots that are coming to end soon and when they do finish, the book will be finished. Plot one – a revenge story. Plot two – a crumbling marriage story. The wife in the crumbling marriage was a teacher for one of the mean people in the revenge story. By the way, three characters in The Briefcase Case also appear in Zuihitsu.

Two: The Dry Mill Case. A mystery short story involving the same two main characters of The Briefcase Case in a similar plot: a woman is murdered, they discover who the murderer is, they are threatened by the woman’s family. Also, a similar length; about 50 pages.

Three: The Lonely Izakaya Down a Quiet Street. A 30-something woman meets her high school teacher and they get together over food, alcohol, and life. Not exactly the same as Strange Weather in Tokyo but the same plot but different outcome; written from the third-person rather than first-person.

The Talkies

You can see a video of The Briefcase Case being made at here. With narration about making books, the plot, about the difference between bunkobon and pocketbooks; and a bit about Kenrokuen, a famous garden in Japan that is in Kanazawa.

Ep. 330: The Battered Briefcase Case: A Mystery

Bookbinding

This week in bookbinding I made a quick collage-covered A6, 50-page book: The Battered Briefcase Case: A Marsh Mystery. It is a murder mystery. A man is accused of murder and hires a private investigator to find the real killer. The investigator discovers someone in Spain might have information about the real killer. In Spain the investigator meets his one true love.

This is a short story I wrote a few weeks back. While it has a plot: Who’s the killer? It is more character-driven than plot-driven, meaning, the people are important.

The book itself has a collage cover front and back. I took left over papers and used them on this book. I sewed the text block outside in the freezing cold in the outside of a coffee shop in Higashi-chaya, one of two famous geisha districts in Kanazawa. (See Talkies, below.)

I folded it and put the signature holes in it in a park near a river that flows through Kanazawa city. It was cold but I enjoyed listening to the elementary school boys two tables over. They were speaking a combination English and Japanese as they played an English computer game. 

I made the cover and cased the text block in in my studio where it is warmer and I have all the materials (leftover paper) and tools (scissors and glue) I need. 

An ebook version of The Battered Briefcase Case is available on Apple Books. Or you can contact me to make you a personalized edition.

Fiction

In fiction I’ve worked on two things instead of three. Zuihitsu is rolling along nicely because each day I can add whatever I want; that’s what following thre brush means. However, Zuihitsu has two strong plots that keep it going.

I wrote, edited, and finished The Battered Briefcase Case, of course. Unfortunately writing on those two means once again that Caraculiambro falls by the wayside; perhaps my renewed interest in mysteries will aid it along.

While The Battered Briefcase Case is finished and up at Apple Books, Zuihitsu is closing in on its finish line. I have started another short work tentatively called The Lonely Izakaya Down the Quiet Street but will talk about it later, when it’s more developed; including a new name.

Talkies

TDGB 76 The Briefcase Case is up for your viewing pleasure. It includes scenes from Kanazawa especially the two rivers (Saigawa and Asanogawa), and one of the two geisha districts (Higashi-chaya), and a coffee/tea place where I sewed the text block. Outside. In the winter. 

The book itself is on Apple Books.

Ep. 329: A Bespoke Collage & Tattoo?

Bookbinding

 

This is a120-page, A6-size blank notebook with a collage cover. The important part is the collage cover. As is most of my collage covers, this was an experiment in two ways: first, could I film the process? Second, did it look okay?

Top right is the front cover. Top left is the back cover. Off by itself is the book opened up so you can see both the front and back at the same time. Fascinating, eh?

To the first question: yes, I could film it. If you go to RhinoTattoo on YouTube, you can see and hear the video. It was necessarily a pretty static shot that didn’t show my hands as I worked. Primarily because I don’t have that kind of tripod many collage makers have. Fortunately, much of it is speeded up.

To the second question: It’s up to you. I like it. I think it accomplished what I set out to do. My goal: film a cover collage. What I would do differently is not put on the hazy gauze. The gauze made the book a bit fuzzy, of course, but it was also difficult to glue down, especially the edges. I would also had more pictures.

Fiction

Okay, sad to say this but I’ve been working on three, yes, Three, different pieces of fiction. As a result one has dropped by the wayside. Again. Caraculiambro is once again sidelined while I concentrate on the other two. The most further along is Zuihitsu. I believe this one is tying up loose ends in a satisfactory way. A few more months, I guess. 

The third one, just begun, is The Lonely Izakaya Down a Quiet Street. Here is the plot: a woman in her 30s runs into her retired high school Japanese teacher. Again and again. They talk.

So far, this is the plot of Hiromi Kawakami’s very popular Strange Weather in Tokyo (which has nothing to do with the strangeness of weather in Tokyo). In Kawakami's book, the two fall in love. In mine, they might not. I haven’t finished it, so I don’t know yet. 

My novel has a touch of magical realism, I think. The main character, Rin, can “see” herself in different places with different people. Also, one of Rin’s co-workers can float in the air but nobody comments on it. 

Flicks

Rhino Tattoo – so called because it has a kangaroo on the title page with a tattoo of a rhinoceros – is up on YouTube. It has kangaroo in Chinese. 
There are other videos that concentrate on bookbinding up as well. Please explore, subscribe, and enjoy.

Ep. 328: Where is Rhino River?

Bookbinding

You’re going to get a quick and easy Japanese lesson unless you already speak and read Japanese in which case this might be boring? Rhinoceros in Japanese is Sai with the accompanying kanji being 犀. The English river in Japanese transforms to Kawa with its kanji being three vertical lines; one is not straight: 川. Together they form one of the two major rivers that flow through Kanazawa: the Saigawa (犀川) – the K morphs into G in dual kanji. The other river is the Asanogawa which means shallow river, and it is. Shallow. The Saigawa could be called the Rhino River. 

My Rhino River is a 120-page, A6-size, collage covered blank notebook. I’m attempting to push my personal bookbinding skill envelope out a bit. This is why titles appear on spines and collages appear as book covers. With my Rhino River the collage has rhinoceroses front and back. A solid rhino on the front and an outline on the back. People populate the interior of the rhino on the back and tower over the rhino on the front cover. There is also a cow, harvesters ala van Gogh, a guitar museum, and a vague Shakespeare photo. 

Fiction

Work is going slow on the two works in progress I have stacked up on my To Write List: Zuihitsu and Caraculiambro. The former is moving slowly but steadily onward. It has two or three separate stories that may collide at one point. Shortly after the collision, Zuihitsu might come to a satisfying closure.

Caraculiambro is dragging. I need to re-read it to understand exactly what is going on but reading is wearing me down. Just imagine: the writer is confused about what he has written; someone’s brain needs refreshing.

Moving Pictures

TDGB 74 Rhino River is up for your visual pleasure as is TDGB 73 Making a Collage to see how I stumble through my collage making; you might learn something. Fingers crossed. 

Feel free to subscribe to both my YouTube channel and this podcast; it would be greatly appreciated.

 

Ep. 327: Why Do I Dislike This Collage?

Bookbinding

I made a collage from a political pamphlet but I didn’t like it because I don't like the politician and I made the collage in anger. When I finished the collage, I didn’t like it because I made in anger; I was thinking of throwing it away. However, I did more digging into the politician. I’m not angry any more, but I do have some questions. For example, he’s against renewable energy, specifically solar and wind power. He wants Japan to have an educational system that encourages logic and thinking; currently the system is based on rote memorization for the sole purpose of passing tests. The problem comes when he wants schools to teach 'proper' Japanese history. His 'proper' is extremely right-wing: Japan as victim, civilians massacred by the Japanese army as 'deserving it' etc.

Both the front and back covers have images from the pamphlet, including the main character and a stock photo of a smiling female.

Rather than throw the collage away, I used it to cover an A6-size, 100-page, blank notebook with French link stitching.

I added a coffee au lait sticker on the front for no particular reason other than to show, like coffee, politicians are for sale, too. On the back I applied the instructions on how to open a milk carton. I think the collage fit. It is a good cover.

Fiction

I’m working on Zuihitsu and Caraculiambro. Progress is slow. One problem with Caraculiambro is there are too many plots I have to clear up before the end of the book. I like the plots: brother-sister-brother conflict; murder; land fraud-infidelity conflict. They are all related but I’ve confused myself. I have to unconfuse myself before we can move on.

Zuihitsu, while slowly merging into two or three stories that logically should converge at some point, continues with non-literary, non-fiction artifacts. Included most recently is what I think was John Steinbeck’s writing routine which included just writing anything or re-reading a work in progress.

Hopefully, the two or three stories will merge so we the reader can get some closure and start re-reading it. As of today, it’s 80 pages but will continue as long as necessary.

Video

At TDGB 71 there’s a tutorial for the French link stitch for those who want to see how I do the French link stitch; not necessarily the best way or the best tutorial, but how I muddle my way through it.

Also, at TDGB 72: Winter Spy you can see this collage-covered book being made (sometimes in 4 times speed) and point out my mistakes. However, enjoy.

Ep. 326: Apple Kayak Summer. What?

Bookbinding

I made a 100-page, A6-size blank notebook that I christened Apple Kayak Summer. As in the last book I made, this one, too, uses the French link stitich.

Both the front and back covers are collages. The front collage has two people. One is the mayor of Kanazawa who is running for another term. He’s dressed in a somber, politically-attractive suit and a grin.

The other person is from an advertisement for a funeral home. She’s dressed in black, of course, but with a bright smile, cheerful eyes, and a finger pointing toward heaven. Or questioning how many bodies are involved. Hard to say.

The back cover has a pizza, a cartoon boy carrying a load of apples, and the kanji for mountain (pronounced yama): 山。The cartoon boy is from a political advertisement. It is supposed to be the candidate. It is also supposed to show how alive and healthy the candidate is. The kanji is there because people tend to climb mountains in the summer. (From the title of the book: Apple Kayak Summer). The pizza is there because I like pizza and it came in the mail.

Fiction

As in the last video, Caraculiambro is being edited and Zuihitsu is being added to. Increasingly, Zuihitsu is merging into two or three short stories/novellas. Nice.

Video

On Youtube you can see the making of Apple Kayak Summer in vivid color for your viewing pleasure. This is a picture of a couple of statues in Miyazaki, by the way, not in Kanazawa (which has different statues).

 

Also on YouTube is a tutorial on how I make the French link stitch; maybe not the proper way, but how I make it. You might be able to learn from it. If not, let me know.

 

Ep. 325: Is This Garbage? Or just Fantasy?

Bookbinding

I have experimented with collage for a few weeks now and decided to make a collage cover. Expect to see more collage covers in the future.
It was also time to practice making French link stitch binding so I combined the two in a blank, 100-page B6-sized notebook.  

The book boards are recycled files destined for the garbage pit. The covers are a recycle kite and left over bits from another book.The endpapers are recycle pieces that lived in my To Be Used Someday pile for the last decade or more.

Fiction

I've been working on two things. One has been in production for ten years. But not consistently. Caraculiambro. I’m re-reading it to catch up to speed on the plot and characters. Hopefully. I’ll be writing and/or editing it soon. Two, Zuihitsu continues to converge to a (happy?) ending. At least to an ending, although I suspect there might be violence.

Video

TDGB 69: French Link Stitch II. A recycled collage cover; the first of a few collage covers. With 100 blank pages and the French link stitch. The first books using French link stitches; more coming, I suspect. With even a tutorial coming soon. I hope.

Ep. 324: Growing Slurry: Is It Finished, Yet?

Bookbinding

Yes, I finished Growing Slurry: A Whale of a Love Story. The title is on the spine and there’s a whale on the cover (front, spine, and back). The book is 265 A6-size pages, 17 signatures, with endbands, and a bluish book cloth for a cover.

It took me a while to get the title printed on the spine and then to align the spine part of the book cover on the book boards. Properly. Fortunately, I managed. Practice, I’m told, leads to success.

It takes place over the course of about 12 hours but each character (Sliven, the male; Gina, the female) has flashbacks to the past where their past lives are shown, examined, and explained. 

Throughout the novel, both characters discuss Moby-Dick. In fact, they meet because Sliven is carrying a copy of Moby-Dick; when Gina sees it, she makes the first move, she ignores everything else about Sliven and they strike up a conversation, discussion, romance? – relationship. This relationship deepens with each flashback and what they discover about each other.

Fiction

I’ve started a journal/novel called The Zuihitsu of Mrs Collier. Zuihitsu is a Japanese word that literally means writing from the brush. It is a journal that can include anything the writer wishes to include. The original zuihitsu was The Pillow Book (Makura no Shoshi) by Sei Shonagon who wrote in about the year 1000. She wrote about Heian era court life, the food she ate, the people she met, and lists of things she thought important.

The Zuihitsu of Mrs Collier is similar. There is a bread recipe, observations and comments on recent events, and two fictional stories. When the two stories end, the book ends. 

Video

For your view pleasure there are two videos up about Growing Slurry. One is longer and about the construction of the book and the plot. TDGB 68. The other one is the first two sentences of Growing Slurry. TDGB 67. Enjoy.