A slideshow about Japanese book covers

[imomus]

[Error: unknown template video]

You might want to click through to the YouTube page and watch it bigger.

Comments

Japanese book covers

[(Anonymous)]

Dear Mr. Momus,
this could be of interest for you:
beautiful bookcovers by Onchi Koshiro, 1934 - to be seen at the Lisson Gallery, London, exhibition by Florian Pumhösl
http://www.lissongallery.com/
(current exhibitions)
Kind regards

[kumakouji.livejournal.com]

I've spent hours looking at book and magazine covers on Amazon.co.jp. It's slightly addictive -- you find one cover that catches your eye then underneath there are amazon's suggestions, which invariably have another equally interesting cover for you to look at. I liked your slideshow a lot.

I don't agree with your judgment that the anglo-sphere doesnt enjoy "the printed and paperness" of books and it's all glossy commercialism. I think you're failing to see past the novelty of these books, them being Japanese and foreign to you, and confusing it with superiority of design. There are lots of examples on amazon.com of anglo-sphere books incorporating aspects of design you've pointed out, such as doodling, organic quality and experimental typography. I could also quite easily find examples of Japanese books and magazines exhibiting a glossy commercial quality.



these are just 2 examples I found within a few minutes on amazon.co.uk. To the left, we have minimalism, white space and off-edge placement which featured a lot in your examples. To the right theres a hand-illustrated childrens book that I really love -- its warm and organic and the colours are amazing. The typography is hand drawn also.


Radicalism for the simple sake of rebelling is just as irksome as Reactionarism.

[(Anonymous)]

Mr Momus not sure which way to jump today.

Re: Japanese book covers

[imomus.livejournal.com]

Wow, I didn't know Florian Pumhösl's work at all, but it looks very interesting -- beautifully restrained compositions using Japanese books!

Re: Japanese book covers

[imomus.livejournal.com]

[(Anonymous)]

Worst comic ever

[(Anonymous)]

I'm not a comic fan, but your post got me looking at comic front covers. They are, in every sense, awful. Every front cover i have ever made has been minimal, so looking at those on http://comiccoverage.typepad.com/comic_coverage/comic_books/index.html makes me nauseous.

wewillbecome.com

[vonbruckhousen.livejournal.com]

That Ganesha is hilarious!

[imomus.livejournal.com]

Yes, and a really clever way to sneak a penis onto an inoffensive-looking sleeve design!

Re: Worst comic ever

[imomus.livejournal.com]

Normally I'd agree with you, but some of those horrible covers are bordering on the kind of thing on the new Vice cover:



which actually I quite like. There's a Tadanori Yokoo thing going on there...

[imomus.livejournal.com]

Kuma, I think it's very difficult to analyse or specify look-and-feel with words. Sure, the West's covers can occasionally have the same feel as Japanese ones -- relaxed, informal, and so on. Notably French covers, or Czech retro ones like the Capeks I mentioned:







But ultimately I think you can only show this stuff, not tell it, which is why I plumped for a slideshow.

Re: Japanese book covers

[imomus.livejournal.com]

Onchi Koshiro's work a bit closer up:

[theartoflamb.livejournal.com]

Very interesting slide show, thankyou for posting.

I think that possibly there is some fear or something in Western publishing about having some part of a books cover not filled with visual information be it pictorial or text. As though theres a chance of not getting your moneys worth or something?

[imomus.livejournal.com]

It's not an entirely fair comparison, because on Amazon.co.jp I selected images I liked, whereas these are taken fairly randomly off the front page of Amazon.co.uk, but I think you can make some basic observations about British book covers -- and British culture -- from them:



First, they're more photographic than the Japanese books. Second, they're massively symmetrical -- there's less off-centredness, and less (as you say) empty space. Also, the colours aren't controlled well at all (and I very much fear there's some sparkle and embossing going on). And I'd say the type is aspiring to be all-conquering Hollywood typeface Trajan, which expresses three things:

1. The books' secret desire to be films.

2. The British desire to be American.

3. The authors' not-so-secret desire to sell the film rights.

But as I say, that may not be entirely fair to my beloved homeland and its publishing industry!

Joey Noemata

[(Anonymous)]

Much enjoyed. I vote for more slide show presentations in the future.

[(Anonymous)]

well said.

infamy (http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/images/c0/c76.jpg)

[(Anonymous)]

Again, utterly selective slicing and dicing. 'Japan' as short hand for arthouse, graceful, tasteful. Ignoring, as ever, Japan's heavy metal bands, violent (rubbish) films, neon, speed, commercialism, gloss, crass (very crass) television, patriarchal culture (isn't everywhere apart from urban Europe?)

[(Anonymous)]

But it doesn't look 'magazine'! If 'Fox' was in Frieze I'd dig it, man.

Paperchase designzzz

[(Anonymous)]

The Japanese covers are united in their lack of gumption. They could be Paperchase card designs. Only a radical and gutsy novelist could get away with a po-mo homage to 'Fox'

[cap-scaleman.livejournal.com]

I bought a "Kabuki handbook" in a Japanese store in Stockholm called Sun Ai. They had several other books in Japanese of course. Didn't check out the book covers though.

Oh, oh, what do you think of this book cover (http://salamonski.googlepages.com/StigClaesson.jpg/StigClaesson-full.jpg). And this one (http://www.hovberg.se/resmi/bombi_bitt.jpg)?

[(Anonymous)]

hehe, some class literature you picked out there, momasu. i'd bet that japanese chick-lit looks just as hideous, but not knowing any names of authors i have no way of checking. unfair! british book design is not that great, but it's had its moments (http://www.flickr.com/groups/penguinpaperbackspotters/pool/).

interesting how genre (chick-lit, fantasy, sf etc) books always usually have the worst covers - but these new SF covers for gollancz (http://wemadethis.typepad.com/we_made_this/2007/08/beautiful-sci-f.html) are a big improvement on the horrors that are usually inflicted on genre lit.

also nice:
- dutch book covers from dick bruna (http://www.utrecht.jp/person/?s=0&p=49).

[imomus.livejournal.com]

I be digging those. But we already know that Sweden is the Japan of Scandinavia.

Re: Worst comic

[pay-option07.livejournal.com]

Bullseyes and stripes are known to trigger migranes.
I do not knoh if migranes in Japan is a delibitating condition.
But she could be the poster girl for it.

Japanese Book Covers

[(Anonymous)]

I really like the youtube-slideshow-lecture format, and i'm guessing you already know about the 'Penguin by Design' book of jacket covers, but you might be interested in the book by Hiroshi Eguchi from Utrecht in Nakameguro.'Cover and Cover' (表紙とカバー) world paperback cover design, based on his own huge collection (French, German, English, Czech, Scandanavian, Japanese and others.

If you've never visited Utrecht you really should, but its better to let them know you're coming. Its almost a private bookshop where everyone is welcome, but its really more of an office with a special book room. One of there roles is as a book stylist for shops in Japan, to make sure the cool shops have the correct rare books for the right look and feel.

http://www.piebooks.com/search/detail.php?ID=869
http://www.utrecht.jp/

i wrote a little bit here after meeting them:
http://www.meisai.co.uk/2007/12/12/utrecht-and-the-way-things-sometimes-connect-unexpectedly/

lee

[(Anonymous)]

It's probably worth mentioning that many readers buying these books in a store would elect to have them wrapped in a brown paper sleeve printed with the logo of the shop. You rarely get to see what book someone else is reading on a train or in a coffee shop in Japan.

Another Folktronic 'homage"

[(Anonymous)]

http://superfad.com/player.php?project=36&item=77

Hi Nick
This might amuse you. Seems to be a lot of TV commercials lately with a nod to "Folktronic". This one does a good job of mimicry.

Richard