42. Tokyo is Flowers.

Dear friends,

For many in Japan, the highlight of August is Obon, the yearly festival for remembering and honoring our ancestors. The customs surrounding Obon include lighting lanterns, preparation of traditional meals, communal dancing, and returning to one’s ancestral family places to clean the family graves and to decorate them with flowers.

But there are no rules for when one may visit graves, and for a long time after my daughter died, I bought flowers every week to place at her grave. After much time had passed and I started to again pay attention to the world around me, I noticed that many other people carrying flowers, too.

Of course, flowers are bought for varied reasons. Birthdays, the beginning of new businesses, to offer congratulations or sympathy. Tokyo’s flower shops range from the simplest shops to the most refined boutiques. In Shinjuku station, there is even a vending machine that sells bouquets. It is said that younger generations are buying fewer flowers than their predecessors. At least for now, though, no matter where one is in Tokyo, flowers seem never far away.

My new book, 東京は花ーTokyo is Flowers, contains a selection of my encounters with flowers and flower shops in Tokyo. It is 56 pages long, staple bound, and contains 50 photos. It measures 297 mm by 210 mm, larger than my past books, and is printed on Takeo Araveal 81 gsm paper, a delicate, uncoated paper with a soft touch. The layout is inspired by the work of the Japanese designer Kohei Sugiura. This edition is limited to 150 copies, of which I have about 40 remaining for sale. They are 2500 JPY here in Japan, or $25 USD outside of Japan, shipping included. If you are interested, send me an email.

This is the first book I have made (other than my handmade books) for which I solely managed every step, including the printing. I am very happy with how it turned out, and I hope that you will like it too.