Maki Yoshida: Episode 53 – Stories of “Shelter”: The Charm of Books

Episode 53: Tales of "Home" – The Allure of Books

Even if it means paying for excess baggage on a flight, or enduring a train ride with arms about to detach, if I think "This is wonderful!" I can hardly resist the urge to buy books. Encounters with books are moments of pure inspiration. I feel there's a certain inevitability within these coincidences.

Narration by Maki YoshidaCompiled by Fuyuki TogawaPhoto by Jamandfix

Bookstore Hopping, Essential Wherever I Go

I've written in this column before that when I design a ring, I don't look at any other rings. For me, the source of design ideas comes from things completely unrelated to what I'm making. For example, a scene from a movie I once saw, or a page from a book. When I browse through books of various genres, those stimuli naturally imprint themselves on my mind, and much later, they emerge as an idea.

Among these, I find myself picking up foreign photography books most often, as they are rich in information and high in quality. The genres I choose are incredibly diverse; some are collections of beautiful landscapes, others are portraits, and because I like objects, I also own many photography books of vintage cars, airplanes, and knives.

Whether I'm in Japan or traveling abroad, I always set aside a day for "bookstore hopping." Or rather, I don't even need to force it; my feet naturally lead me to bookstores (laughs).

And yet, even with books I've excitedly acquired, exclaiming "Yes! I found an amazing book!", I often end up reading them only once from cover to cover and then not touching them for years.
After some time passes, I'll think, "Hmm, I remember having a book like that..." and then I'll find that particular volume among my stacks of materials and flip through it again.
My relationship with books has a comfortable distance – not too close, not too far, but always feeling their presence nearby.

Resisting the Temptation of Beautiful Books is a Challenge

Something similar happened once. On my way to drinks, I had some time and ended up stopping by a used bookstore in Kanda Jimbocho. There, I found an oversized book about the "Eiffel Tower." This book meticulously details everything from the hand-drawn blueprints of the Eiffel Tower to the design of each individual screw. It explains, with contemporary photographs, how such a beautiful and colossal structure was built by human hands in an era before computers existed, making it a historically valuable record.

Beyond the brilliance of its content, the book's design was also exquisitely detailed and beautiful. When I found it, I was so thrilled I could have screamed. Before I knew it, I was walking with this heavy book, weighing several kilograms, tucked under my arm (laughs).
I had gone out for drinks intending to go empty-handed! And this book was so large it wouldn't fit anywhere on my bookshelves. (laughs) So, its designated spot became leaning against the front of the bookshelf.
Similarly, I acquired a book about my beloved Concorde, but it was too large to fit on my bookshelf, so I had to remove a shelf just for that one volume.
While I'm constantly being overwhelmed by the unreasonable nature of books, which steadily encroach upon every space in my home, I continue my bookstore visits without fail.
I know better, but I can't stop – bookstores are my wonderland.