Hobonichi Techo 2025 Weeks Unsodo: Bijutsukai (Tanabata Decorations) / Artistic Ocean

Bijutsukai and Shin Bijutsukai are craft design books published during the Meiji period (1868–1912). Both contain beautiful designs created by various Japanese painters and designers. This collection of multicolored woodblock print designs was published by Unsodo, a Kyoto-based art publishing company and the only publisher of hand-printed woodblock books in Japan.

This Weeks book was created using a craft design selected from Bijutsukai.

The craft design consists of layers of pastel-colored geometric motifs with striking, thread-like red lines. Take a close look; you will see leaves and overlapping paper folded into triangles.

It is said that in the past, Japanese aristocrats used to write Waka poems on paper mulberry leaves instead of the Tanzaku paper strips used today. Their wishes for the Tanabata star festival were also written on paper mulberry leaves. It then became a time when “Kaji-no-ha ornaments” were regarded as a symbol of Tanabata decorations, made by hanging folded colored paper on a paper mulberry leaf and tying a string on it. These historical motifs are what is described in this design. However, it is interesting that the shapes and exquisite colors of the individual pieces give us a sense of the coming future.

The year 2025 is foil-pressed in white.