Hon no Machi — Jimbocho Book Town Guide
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Thank you, as always, for reading Hon no Machi. The plum buds are beginning to open, and little by little we can feel spring in the air. How are you all doing?
The latest issue of the monthly Hon no Machi, packed with the charms of Jimbocho — the March issue (Vol. 11) — will be published on February 10. By coincidence, several articles in this issue relate to Yukio Mishima and to the Hilltop Hotel (Yama no Ue Hotel), making for a rich issue that touches the deeper layers of the culture this town has nurtured.
■ This Issue’s Main Feature: “Yukio Mishima and Jimbocho” and memories of the Hilltop Hotel. In “Yukio Mishima and Jimbocho: Yamaguchi Shoten,” Shigeru Owada writes about the behind-the-scenes story of an exhibition marking the centenary of Mishima’s birth, and about little-known exchanges between Mishima and the shop’s previous owner. The Hilltop Hotel, which closed to the regret of many, also appears in essays by Takamichi Shibano and Tetsuya Sudo. Enjoy the “cultural chemistry” that draws you close to a place once beloved by great writers, and to the spirit it embodied.
■ Series Lineup Highlights
- Inuhiko Yomota, “My Apprenticeship in Old Books”: The seventh installment, titled “Shoplifting? Oh, I Could Never…,” humorously portrays the inner conflicts only a book lover knows, along with some cold-sweat moments in secondhand bookstores.
- Hiroshi Takahagi, “Curtain Calls in Full Bloom”: The second installment, “Shun-kin, Sleeping in Memory,” retraces memories of Simon McBurney’s stage production based on the novel by Junichiro Tanizaki.
- Marsha Lin, “The Bond Between Teacher and Pupil Forged by Art”: A musical story about Mao Fujita, his mentor Gerstein, and Akio Yashiro’s 24 Preludes.
- Naoko Shimamura, “In Search of Yojiro Shimamura’s Paintings”: The sixth installment, “Cadmium Yellow and Prussian Blue,” explores the colors that gave the painter’s art book its title, and the soul he poured into them.
■ Art and Columns Throughout the Issue This month’s cover is “Mori no Iriguchi” (Entrance to the Forest) by Masako Takezawa. The issue is also packed with information that makes walking the town more fun, including Keiko Oritsuki’s visit to Miwa Shobo, a secondhand bookstore specializing in children’s books; ELLI’s introduction to Asanoya, a long-established soba restaurant; and Kazuyuki Iida’s jazz column.
- Release date: February 10, 2026
- Cover price: ¥150 (tax incl.) — distributed free at member shops
- Publisher: Hon no Machi Editorial Office
We hope the March issue of Hon no Machi will keep you company in these quiet days as we wait for spring.
日本語で読む — Read this article in Japanese