Photo/Illutration The “Hon no Nudo-ten” exhibition held in Nara in 2019 (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

Bookworms belong to one of two “schools.”

One is formed of people who religiously remove the dust jacket of every volume to examine the cover design. The other consists of those who never bother to check what is under the jacket.

I myself am of the latter school.

Yasufumi Suezawa, 40, a book publisher in Osaka, is a hardcore follower of the “remove-and-examine” persuasion.

When selecting a book at a bookstore, he invariably strips off the jacket to scrutinize the cover.

“The jacket is the book’s makeup, the cover is the book’s face without makeup,” he declares. “I enjoy seeing the difference.”

Suezawa has been holding exhibitions in Osaka, Kyoto and Nara, provocatively titled “Hon no Nudo-ten” (Nude book exhibition), for the past three years.

I visited a show now being held at the Toyama City Public Library, where 90 volumes, carefully selected by bibliophiles from around the nation, are on display.

They include works by literary greats, such as Natsume Soseki, Junichiro Tanizaki and Saiichi Maruya. Each copy is an outstanding example of artistry of bookbinders.

For instance, a book about “rakugo” comic storyteller Katsura Bunshi had an understated jacket, but the cover underneath was stunningly flashy. My eyes were glued to an upside-down “funny face” photo of the master artist.

When I came across a reference book on “The Moomins” (characters in a series of books by Finnish author Tove Jansson), the colors and facial expressions of the characters presented on the jacket were entirely different from those on the cover. I felt I had lucked out.

British critic John Ruskin (1819-1900) famously said, “All books are divisible into two classes, the books of the hour, and the books of all time.”

To borrow his words, one could say that all books are divisible into two classes: the books that should be thoroughly appreciated, including their covers, and the books that do not quite cut it.

“Budgets for bookbinding have been cut due to a slump in the publishing industry, making volumes that have carefully and lovingly designed covers more valuable,” Suezawa said.

What I sensed at the exhibition venue was the breath of creativity infused into the books by bookbinders and editors.

Belatedly, I regretted having discarded too many books to date without ever seeing the covers behind their jackets.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Nov. 20

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

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