Mitsuhiko Imase x Yoshitaka Haba Talk Show | New BMW GRAN TURISMO at BMW Studio ONE 02

Chapter 10 Talk Show “Nature”

The 4th Talk Show: “Culture” with Mitsuhiko Imimori & Yoshitaka Haba 02

—I see. Mr. Haba, would you mind taking a break from your assistant duties and telling us about your work as a book director?

HabaI’ve loved reading since I was a child, and my first job was at a bookstore. But back then, online book sales were becoming mainstream, and fewer people were coming to physical stores. So, I decided to bring books to where people are, and started creating bookshelves in various places. Sometimes it was in retail stores, other times in hospitals, or I’d build libraries in cram schools. Books are still a valuable tool for information, and more importantly, I worry that people will forget the physical act of turning pages. That’s why I want to create opportunities in various places for people to open a book.

BMW Studio ONE | Park Library: A Library on the Grass

BMW Studio ONE | Shinjuku Brooklyn Parlor

HabaMore recently, I ran a rental bookstore called Park Library in a grassy area behind a commercial facility in Roppongi. We lent out baskets containing three books and a mat. Some people borrowed them just for the mat. But when people eat lunch from nearby food stalls, lie down with a beer, and there’s a book in front of them, they naturally flip through it. I was really happy to create an opportunity for people who aren’t typically interested in books to engage with them. I also thought, wouldn’t it be nice to have a place where you can read a book while enjoying a beer? So, last year, we created Brooklyn Parlor in Shinjuku, where one-third of the restaurant is a bookstore. People tend to associate books with something serious, academic, something you must read with perfect posture. But I want to make the environment for reading books more about personal freedom.

My first experience selecting books was for TSUTAYA at Roppongi Hills, which led me to my current career. With the concept of “proposing a lifestyle,” I created a bookstore centered around four pillars: travel, food, design, and art, delving deeply into each genre. I love Gabriel García Márquez’s ‘One Hundred Years of Solitude,’ and I knew I had to include it in the first bookstore I curated. Since there wasn’t a world literature section, I placed it next to ‘Chikyu no Arukikata: South America’ in the travel section. That was my first attempt at ‘editing a bookshelf.’

BMW Studio ONE | Haba’s Favorite Book: Gabriel García Márquez’s ‘One Hundred Years of Solitude’

ImimoriI also stayed in Colombia for several months to take photographs, and when I read Márquez’s books, the scenery just unfolds before my eyes.

HabaI haven’t been to Colombia, but by reading the story, I feel like I can understand the scorching sun of that land, the blood that has soaked into its soil, and so on. I gain information that isn’t typically found in guidebooks, like how to make a phone call or the local currency. So, I thought it might actually be useful placed next to a guidebook.

ImimoriYour work sounds enjoyable, Mr. Haba. I’m on the creation side, but I completely agree with you. I often feel that bookstores are poor at arranging books. Of course, there are genres, but I think they should look more at the author’s individuality. I publish everything from photo collections for adults to children’s books. For example, ‘Satoyama Monogatari’ is a photo collection, but for children, it becomes a picture book. Bookstores that understand my work place ‘Satoyama Monogatari’ and my picture books in the same section.

HabaAs soon as something is labeled a ‘photo collection,’ it becomes strangely elevated. Also, you often see ‘Ages 0-3’ written on the back of picture books. I think that’s the first thing that should be abolished. In my luggage, I have Henri Matisse’s ‘JAZZ,’ a collection of paper cutouts. My son plays by pointing at the colors in the book, and even worse, he scribbles all over it with his own crayons. While I might say, ‘That’s a rather expensive sketchbook,’ I let him do it because I believe we shouldn’t stop children based on adult convenience (laughs). There’s something fundamentally expressive about these works that should captivate anyone who sees them, so I think it’s a waste to eliminate that potential.