Published during the Meiji era,BijutsukaiandShin Bijutsukaiare treasured collections featuring exquisite craft designs by various pattern designers, Japanese-style painters, and talented artisans whose names may have been lost to time. These beautifully crafted books showcase the art of multicolour woodblock printing and were published by Unsodo, a distinguished Kyoto-based art publisher and the only house in Japan dedicated to producing hand-printed woodblock books.

Hobonichi have created a cover with a design selected from Bijutsukai, featuring flowers in delightful springtime colours.

The Original size Bijutsukai (Plum and Dianthus) features the delicate fringed petals of dianthus flowers in a rich mauve-pink, beautifully complemented by fresh green leaves that stand out against the natural off-white background pattern. The softly blurred outlines and subtle colours are distinctive characteristics of hand-printed artisanship, lending the design its unique, authentic charm.

The lower section features white upright plum blossom buds waiting to open alongside flowers in full, graceful bloom, with quiet nobility. The soft lavender-purple hues beautifully enhance the elegance of both the plum blossoms and dianthus flowers.

The back pocket stands in stark contrast to the understated charm of the front side. The orderly pattern of large peony blossoms, encircled by butterflies, creates a kaleidoscopic beauty that is truly mesmerising.

While the front side appears to feature two designs in different colour palettes arranged vertically, it is actually a single design. Weve also taken two designs that initially appeared as a facing pair across left and right pages in Bijutsukaiand placed them on the front and back of this cover.

The inner cover is a calming, soft beige. The butterfly-stopper pen holders, inner pocket, and bookmark charms are in a gentle lavender, while the charm at the tip features a purple shade that echoes the tones of the cover design.

Specifications