By HIROMI SEKI/ Staff Writer
November 12, 2020 at 14:00 JST
OSAKA--The swelling popularity of the small family-owned Seiwado Bookstore here is proof that you can't judge a book by its cover.
The shop, in the city's Tsurumi Ward, counts more than 70,000 followers on Instagram thanks to its dust jackets and bookmarks, which tickle the taste buds of readers.
Together, these jackets and markers create unique images, such as roasted sweet potatoes in a paper bag, ice cream floats and popsicles.
Standing along Tsurumi-dori street near Imafuku-Tsurumi Station on Osaka Metro Co.'s Nagahori Tsurumi-Ryokuchi Line, Seiwado Bookstore was founded 50 years ago.
Its Instagram account was opened in March 2017. Although the store initially attracted an increasing number of followers as it shared information on must-read books on a daily basis, it was struggling to see an increase in in-store customers.
So the grandsons of the founder, Yasuhiro Konishi, 34, and his 32-year-old brother, Yuya, hit upon creating original dust covers and bookmarks to draw in customers.
Yasuhiro, who works for a printing company, is in charge of designing the freebies, utilizing his experience at an art college.
As a starter, he chose the popsicle as a motif. He created two versions in summer 2017, producing 100 sets for each. But they ran out in one month or so.
Yasuhiro has created about 15 designs so far, including musical instruments and Mount Fuji.
Each book jacket is available in a paperback size. The bookstore gives each customer a set of a book jacket and a marker when they buy a book.
Yuya, who worked at the bookstore until October, says the customer base has expanded.
"We have more female customers, and we draw in customers from across the country, from Hokkaido to Okinawa Prefecture," he said, adding, "We even had a customer from Bali island in Indonesia."
Yasuhiro is fastidious about designing dust covers and bookmarks so that they look nice even when they are used independently.
"I want to keep promoting many ways that can motivate people to want to read books," Yasuhiro said.
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