Past Shop Diary entries

Sunday, August 23, 2026

Today I went to Shidami Library for the first time in a while to observe “みんなのがん教室” (Everyone's Cancer Class). The lecturer had recently been featured in the Chunichi Shimbun, so the event was full; I ended up standing. The lecturer was a university student. When they were in elementary school their mother had cancer, and to understand cancer they interviewed many people — healthcare professionals, people living with cancer, and their family members — and compiled the interviews into a booklet. I couldn't see the booklet itself, but it seemed very well put together, so I thought it could be published as a ZINE as is. I restrained myself from making suggestions or being pushy at the venue. If another opportunity arises I'll try proposing it. Come to think of it, I was surprised to see picture-book author みなみゆかこさん participating! She does support activities for children with pediatric cancer, and I had recommended the cancer class to her. After Shidami Library I took the Yutorito Line back to Kanaya and walked to Apita. I visited Kusasou Books Shin-Moriyama on the second floor and saw the “Summer Festival” held yesterday and today. About ten creators of ZINEs and crafts were selling on a rotating daily schedule. I think this was Kusasou's first event like this. I went because 染よだかさん, who has also exhibited at our events, was participating and I wanted to buy their new work. Unfortunately the new work wasn't ready. I was also able to meet the two staff members in charge at Kusasou Books and talk about various things. We've had a relationship with Kusasou Books since the Shidami Library days, and there's still a corner for librarian-recommended books. When they created a ZINE corner they came to our shop for consultation and we talked about many things. I greeted the vendors at this event and made a few proposals for sourcing ZINEs. According to the person in charge at Kusasou Books, to commemorate the store's 10th anniversary when it opens in February next year they want to hold a large market gathering ZINE and craft creators. I'm looking forward to it!

Saturday, August 22, 2026

A steady stream of customers. Today was that kind of half-day. Even before I came in, there were unusually good sales in the morning: library books and ZINEs sold. It's a shame I couldn't meet that customer. 　When I started my shift in the afternoon, the poet Kosakai ("Charlie") dropped by right away and we chatted a bit — about the Tokai Tanka Anthology and so on. I'm very grateful that they support this shop. The second meeting for the anthology is, of course, planned to be at Heiwaen. 　Because it was Saturday, the usual customers from Cafe River were many as always, but we also had lots of bookstore customers: people visiting for the first time and some on their second visit bought ZINEs and books about Nagoya. Also, when the owner of one of the shared shelves came to deliver books, they brought their own ZINE, so I purchased it right away. 　At my old workplace, Shidami Library, there was a Shakespeare lecture in yesterday's staff training. I saw that Deputy Director Ōhashi introduced on SNS a karuta called "Saō Hyakunin-ikku," which collects lines from 100 characters appearing in Shakespeare's works. Many people reacted saying, "I want to buy that," so I thought this is something to get, asked the lecturer and karuta author Ueno to contact me, and to my surprise they brought a copy to the shop immediately, so I put it out on the counter straightaway. 　As all that was happening, to my surprise regular visitor Sae-chan from the Shidami Library days came with her mother! She was supposed to be in Canada since last year for her mother's study abroad—yet here she was!!! 　I first met Sae-chan because her mother was a regular user of Shidami Library and studied there almost every day. One day when we were talking, I discovered she was the head of a medical yoga group and she started by giving a maternity yoga class. Sae-chan must have been in first or second grade at the time. She was a fun, friendly, energetic girl; we read picture books and stories together and she often helped with the library storytime. Now that same Sae-chan is in sixth grade! This time she had returned to Japan partly for a visit home, even though her real hometown is in another prefecture, and she surprised me by coming to see me. I was so happy I nearly cried. 　This time she came back with her mother; her older brother is staying in Canada with their father. He must already be a second-year high school student — I remember he came to the library's book-report lecture when he was about in sixth grade, so he must have grown a lot. I think this episode was also mentioned in the book by the lecturer Konatsumuri. 　Kotobuki from the Tokai Yūri History Research Group also came by! We've asked them to give two lectures in September and November — September is fully booked! November is almost full as well. The consecutive lecture series will continue next year too! We also talked about Beniko's photo exhibition in October. Watanabe from Kastrī Shobō and Beniko will be in attendance during the exhibition! There's also a talk event with Beniko and Ritsuko! (Too lavish.) Kotobuki said, "This is going to be something else!" 　Kotobuki and I got excited talking about wanting to do a course on the history of performing arts in Nagoya. 　In the evening, ZINE creator Hitokuchi Gyoza came by. They delivered a newly made ZINE titled "Die in an Instant." While reading it, I learned they have a baby who's now ten months old, so they bought some picture books as well. I recommended a few picture books suitable for a ten-month-old — some of them we don't even stock. 　Just when I was thinking picture books had sold after a long time, Mr. Inoue from Zuiunsha came in for the first time in a year! He was returning from an event at Hiraku Honya in Tajimi. As always, he was full of energy. He said his hotel was west of the station and that if he was staying nearby he just had to come here. He also bought my ZINE "This Is Not Just a Place to Borrow Books, A Library." I'm very grateful.

Friday, August 21, 2026

It's still hot even after Obon. Today was a busy day with more customers than usual. Kotomi-san, who writes tanka, stopped by. We chatted over tea about things like the Tokai Tanka anthology. Kotomi said she wants to make a new collection (a ZINE) and we discussed things like the size. She's someone who composes tanka every day, so she probably has a large backlog. It's amazing she can write tanka every day. Jizo-san, a member of Zindies, also came in. He said he had dropped by Kusamura Books in Shin-Moriyama. Kusamura is starting a ZINE festival from tomorrow, so their ZINE section seems to be getting even more substantial. I plan to go see it the day after tomorrow. Jizo and I talked about new services for Zindies and about the somewhat near future (mostly Jizo talking). I mentioned the idea of a service to support small-scale ZINE events — for example, helping produce a catalog that summarizes vendors and the ZINEs on offer. Chiharu-san, another tanka poet, also came. I was worried because she seemed to have had a fever, but she looked well, which was a relief. Chiharu is actively composing tanka and often participates in or hosts uta-kai (poetry gatherings). Perhaps because of that, her tanka are very beautiful and feel like they're heading farther and farther afield. A couple (maybe) from Tokyo also visited. They said they'd been here before, exclaimed "Nagoya is interesting!" and bought a lot of books about Nagoya — thank you very much. After that, a young man came in. When I talked with him, he said he's from Kuwana and is studying design, and is also interested in making ZINEs. I told him there's a ZINE event in Kuwana next February and invited him to exhibit. A customer who came in just before closing said they're in Nagoya from Fukuoka on an internship and found our shop while walking, so they came in. We talked about the newly renovated Tenjin.

Thursday, August 20, 2026

Today is Thursday. The shop is open, but I'm taking the day off and stayed at home with my grandson Mii-kun who came to visit yesterday and today. Speaking of working from home, I hit a wall using AI to make an event flyer, so that's on hold. It's convenient, so I should probably get used to how to use it. Rather than using it to produce the finished flyer, I might try it from the idea-generation stage. I'll also try a different AI. Just after noon I got a message from an independent bookstore in Tokyo! They placed an additional order for the ZINE 'This Is Not Just a Library Where You Borrow Books' that they had stocked — I'm thrilled they're steadily selling it. I prepared the shipment right away and dropped it in the mailbox. I'm very grateful. My on-hand stock is finally getting low, so I'm considering ordering the second edition I test-printed the other day. Our shop's stock has also dropped below 10 copies, so maybe it's about time.

Wednesday, August 19, 2026

Today is Wednesday, so I have the day off. The shop is open, but since there is a meeting for the “Tokai Tanka Anthology” at Heiwaen from 7:00 PM, I headed to the west side of the station again today. “Tokai Tanka Anthology 2026 ‘Seeds of Song’” was created by young tanka poets スズキ皐月さん and 永井文鳥さん, who wanted to provide a place for younger people in the Tokai region with an interest in tanka to present their work. The other day we held a talk event at our shop titled “Editor's Afterword,” where the two editors and Hiroyuki Ogiwara, who read all the poems and wrote comments, spoke. At the end we discussed the next issue and agreed that another issue should be published. For the first meeting, Suzuki, Nagai, and Fujisaki and Itō — who will join as staff from this time — and I gathered. Unfortunately, Suzuki was absent due to poor health, so the remaining members talked over the general approach and decided to meet again with Suzuki to go over the results. We agreed that we want to further energize tanka in the Tokai region (Aichi, Gifu, Mie). By the way, from the next issue onward we will stop holding related events at our shop, and both I and the shop will participate in this anthology project in a supporting/backing role.

Tuesday, August 18, 2026

On my way to work I went to the nearest subway station, but for some reason the service had been suspended, so I had no choice but to go back home. I ended up arriving at work two hours late, at 3:00 PM. As usual there weren't many customers, but I placed a phone order with the publisher for books for an event (a new release by 飯田一史). Normally we order through Nippan's system, but because the number of copies was large and they needed to arrive in time for the event, unusually we ordered by phone. Doing things we don't normally do is tiring. A box from Nippan arrived for the first time in a while (though only a few books), so I opened the box and sorted them. I also used AI again to redo the event flyer. But it didn't follow my instructions properly, which made me a little irritated. Well, it's probably because my instructions weren't sufficient. Still, I don't want it to slightly edit the photos I told it to use or do unnecessary things. It also can't integrate with Canva. Ah — what a hassle. Well, I'm getting old, so it can't be helped. But the instructor said the finished material was easier to understand, so that was good. The design still looks very AI-like, so that's something I'd like to work on. It would be great if I could understand the key points to communicate and design them myself. Anyway, it doesn't matter who makes it — what's important is that it leads to attracting customers. While I was getting irritated with the AI, a customer from Gifu whom I hadn't seen in a while came in. They were pleased when I told them someone from the Tokai Yūri History Research Group would be giving a lecture at Medicos. Near closing time a creator from Gifu came to deliver a ZINE. I told them about Medicos' evening classes too. They have a photobook of Yanagase, so it should be a perfect fit. After closing, while waiting for Michineko — a former school librarian coming to Meieki via Saitama and Fukui — I had dinner at Heiwaen. While talking with the owner, Mr. Kosakai, he said he'd come buy his own book tomorrow! But I'm off tomorrow, so after finishing dinner I went back to the store, prepared the book he wanted, made the delivery note, and returned to Heiwaen. I'm grateful — finally a bookstore favored by Heiwaen! After that hectic business, I met up with Michineko and her former student Natsumi. We ate things like chicken wings at Sekai no Yamachan, got excited talking about the national conference of the School Library Research Association, and then parted ways safely.

Monday, August 17, 2026

The shop is open every Monday, but I'm off. On my way to the municipal pool, I hurriedly read the stack of library books I needed to return (they'd piled up), but while watching recorded TV shows I had accumulated, there was an interesting program about using AI. Speaking of which, this Zindies is also being developed by our member Jizō, and from what I hear they're using AI to develop various menu items. It's been about a year since Zindies development started, and even in that short time AI has progressed tremendously. For example, things I casually suggested like "Could we do something like this?" can now be created using AI without much human effort. I'm not a programmer, but I wondered whether I could have AI do the tedious or difficult parts of my current work. First, I had AI write publicity copy for events and social media posts. If I only used the information registered for the Zindies event, the copy came out thin and unsatisfying (and since I was the one who created the original information, maybe the problem is how I make flyers). So I instructed the AI to look up the instructor's social media and other online information in detail, and it produced much better text. Still, it sometimes feels a bit "AI-y." But I think it's better than my writing, so I had it create posts tailored to X, Instagram, and Facebook and posted them. The responses after posting were so-so. It doesn't seem to have led to many actual event registrations yet. Next, I had the AI research organizations where potential attendees might belong, list their social accounts and email addresses, and draft messages. It even came up with different opening lines for each organization, so I used those and actually sent messages to a few places. I wonder what kinds of responses we'll get. One more thing: I asked the AI to list ZINE candidates that might be good for our shop to stock. The criteria were that they be from Aichi Prefecture, created or sold within the past year, and preferably ones that sell well. It produced quite an interesting list of works and creators, so I'll research them carefully before negotiating purchases. By the way, I recently bought 'Bungaku Flea Market Story: Why Are People Fascinated by Creating?' by Sabara Suzuki (鈴木沙巴良), published by Wedge, and I'm reading it bit by bit. I should study properly. We'll be exhibiting as Zindies at the Tokyo Bungaku Flea Market on November 8, so look forward to it!

Saturday, August 15, 2026

Today is the anniversary of the end of the war. This summer we held several events about books dealing with "Japan during the time of war." It was partly by chance that they took place in summer, but I think it's because we feel we should do something in response to Japan's current situation. I believe we must not let the present become a "pre-war" period. This afternoon I held two events. From 2:00 PM there was a book launch talk for Noran Nijino's new work, "Akari no Tomoru Hello." We invited guests from Kyoto and Tokyo to read passages from the text. I think the atmosphere was completely different from the talk we held recently at Nagoya City Kita Library. Many participants came from far away; Noran has fans across the country, and it was a very good occasion for everyone to meet and interact. From 6:00 PM there was a talk to commemorate the publication of the Tokai Tanka Anthology 2026, "Seeds of Song." A little over twenty people attended, including those who contributed to the anthology and those who did not this time, and everyone listened intently to the critiques by the anthology's editors, Satsuki Suzuki and Bunchō Nagai, and the guest commentator, Professor Hiroyuki Ogiwara.

Friday, August 14, 2026

This week my work days and the shop's closed days fell one after another, so I'll only be working at the store today and tomorrow — just two days. Since it's the Obon holiday it feels a little wasteful, but you have to rest when you can. At my age I shouldn't overdo things. What makes me feel it's a shame to take time off is less the lost sales than not being able to talk with customers. At this time of year some people even come from outside Nagoya or from other parts of Aichi Prefecture, so it's disappointing not to be able to meet those visitors. Today two people came in who I had met at the ZINE event “Ima ZINE” held at Wink Aichi this past Tuesday the 11th: one exhibitor I met there, and a ZINE creator who had been exhibiting but whom I hadn't met yet. One is Nando Nezumi, who published a sento (public bath) book titled 『そっと無言で湯につかる』 (Sotto Mugon de Yu ni Tsukaru). I bought five copies. Nando Nezumi has apparently researched Nagoya's chindonya (traditional street advertisement performers), and I'd love to see a ZINE about that too. The other is an artist who makes photo books and diary ZINEs; they didn't have any copies on hand today, so they'll bring them later. After that, a man from a family who had been at the café bought a book, and when I spoke with him he said he'd wanted to visit our shop once. He was delighted and said it's nice to have a bookstore that only sells books about Nagoya. He and his wife apparently go on sento tours and visit sites related to Akira Toriyama. Mr. Muramatsu from Nakamura Library dropped by. He said today is his day off. He asked if I would become a shelf curator for the "Hitohako Library" project that Nakamura Library is working on! The shelf curator doesn't just select books (about ten); it seems a lecture is also included. Sometime in the latter half of this fiscal year I'll likely do a selection and a talk at Nakamura Library. I'll let you know when it's decided. For the selection I'm thinking something like "bookstore + Hon'ya Taisho (Booksellers' Award) + library + ZINE." They'll have to buy my ZINE too.

Tuesday, August 11, 2026

Today was a public holiday, so the shop was closed. It happened that Jizō-san, a member of Zindies, was coming to Nagoya, so I decided to meet up at the venue of the ZINE event “イマZINE” held at Wink Aichi. 　“Ima ZINE,” held for the first time this year, seemed to be run so smoothly that you wouldn't think it was the first time, since the people who organize the book events in Endonji and everyone from 美鶴堂 were staffing it. 　Many ZINE creators who work with our shop also had booths, so I went to say hello. There were, of course, many first-time visitors, and we walked around the venue several times, checking each booth to see if there were any interesting ZINEs.

Sunday, August 9, 2026

I meant to write this in the diary earlier, but the other day manga artist Megumi Tsuji visited the shop. Actually, she had come about a month ago while I was away, so we couldn't meet then. 　Ms. Tsuji has just released Volume 1 of 'Nokorimono ni wa Meshi ga Aru' with Akita Shoten, and her previous visit seemed to have been partly for coverage related to that serialization. 　'Nokorimono ni wa Meshi ga Aru' is a story set after the end of the Pacific War: a young man repatriated from Manchuria to his hometown of Nagoya grows through food in Nagoya's black market (apparently behind the station). 　Ms. Tsuji, who was born in Mie Prefecture and is still very young, must find it really difficult to depict the war and the black market. She told me that the photographs in 'Nagoya Station West Time Trip' published by Fubaisha that we have in our shop were very helpful, so I asked, 'Shall we try to meet the book's author Hayashi-sensei? Also, people who study the Nakamura yūkaku would know a lot about research from that era, so why not join the yūkaku lecture we hold at the shop?' — and I more or less pushed her into it. 　Since yesterday we've been exchanging messages on social media, and we decided to hold a talk event for 'Nokorimono ni wa Meshi ga Aru' after the second Nakamura yūkaku lecture in November, inviting Hayashi-sensei to speak about the history of the station-west area and the black market. I think we might be able to make a flyer around the week after next (it's hard to get cover images right now because the publisher is inactive during the Obon holiday).

Saturday, August 8, 2026

There was an event today starting at 2:00 PM, and the speaker and the MC were scheduled to meet at 1:00 PM at the café "River", so I came to work before 12:00, an hour earlier. The forecast had said cloudy, but the sun was still strong and the second-floor gallery where the event was held looked like it would trap heat. Today's event was a lecture by Mr. Makoto Kumagai, author of "The Birth of Poet Noriko Ibaraki", which was recently published by Fubai-sha. We expected just under twenty attendees, but sign-ups increased during the last week and we ended up with 26 people. That left the venue almost full, and the back seats (near the windows) must have been quite hot. I kept thinking we should stop holding daytime events in midsummer. I'm worried because on the 15th next week there's another daytime talk by Nijino Noran. Since it was a Saturday afternoon, customers kept coming into the shop — even for a small bookstore like ours — and I couldn't just leave them and go up to the second-floor gallery to listen to the lecture. I didn't want to miss the chance to talk with customers, so in the end I only gave a brief greeting at the start of the lecture and couldn't hear the content at all. I had organized the event because I wanted to hear it myself, so it's really disappointing. Still, it was good that the number of participants exceeded expectations. One thing that surprised me was that the author's books, including signed copies, sold well (about ten copies) — although that doesn't mean everyone bought one. These days, even at author events, books often don't sell as well as expected; after paying a participation fee, people may be reluctant to spend extra on books. Meanwhile, other books by Noriko Ibaraki (and related titles) hardly sold at all. Maybe I should have asked the speaker to mention recommended poetry collections and related books during the talk. This year is the 100th anniversary of Noriko Ibaraki's birth, so I want to make sure we have them properly in stock. I'm looking forward to the diary book that didn't arrive in time. By the way, there are two signed copies of Mr. Kumagai's book in stock. Come to think of it, I realized we hadn't stocked any books by Nankichi Niimi — what a shock! I ordered a few picture books and story collections.

Friday, August 7, 2026

It's hot again today. In that heat, Kotomi-san, who helps with the ZINE, visited the shop. She went out of her way to bring the invoice for the ZINE that was delivered the other day. When I said an email would have been fine, she said, 'I wanted to meet and talk' ❤️ Thank you! A woman was intently looking at the books on the sales floor. When I spoke to her, she said she had read the article in the Yomiuri Shimbun — thanks to 'Bookstores, hooray'. But actually, she said she had heard my reading at an event at TOUTENBOOKSTORE in Kanayama a few years ago (!) and that it was the first time as an adult to have someone read to her; she was so moved she almost cried. When I checked photos — because I had done picture-book events several times at TOUTEN with my librarian colleague Ohashi during my librarian days — it seemed to have been the event on February 5, 2022. Has it already been four years? My face was pictured in the Yomiuri article, and that's how she knew I was at the current shop and came to see me. I'm truly grateful. We talked about various things, like the Momochihama library, the authors read there, and the Booksellers Award, and had a lively conversation. After she left, a young woman who had been listening to that conversation eagerly asked about the Booksellers Award. When we talked, she said she's a third-year high school student who reads a lot of novels and had read many of the Booksellers Award nominated works — I was surprised. There's a library near her home and she's been using it since she was little. She said she'd like to work part-time at a bookstore when she becomes a university student.

Thursday, August 6, 2026

Today's event was a talk by Hisayuki Arai, who has worked for many years as an editor at Shinchosha. Arai originally came from Kyoto University's mystery club, and people like Ayatsuji were a little senior to him. He told us plenty of stories from the time when those mystery-obsessed students joined Shinchosha's editorial department — for example, episodes involving Ryūichi Tamura, the poet who was editor-in-chief of Hayakawa Mystery; anecdotes about Takashi Tachibana; his meeting with the then-young writer Kōtarō Isaka and how that led to publication; and, more recently, stories about Tomoya Sakurada, author of last year's much-discussed The Lost Face. We heard lots of stories you can only hear here. What a luxurious time! But I'm still disappointed we ran out of time and couldn't hear his stories about Masashi Sada. I'd like to invite him again next year to hear the rest and get an update on any new works. Thank you very much, Mr. Arai!

Tuesday, August 4, 2026

There are three events this week! Today was the first one: 「染よだかさんのおやつもぐもぐうたかい」. This event came right after the literary marche on the 1st where 染さん also took part—thank you for your efforts. This uta-kai was a casual gathering where we enjoyed the snacks 染さん brought and chatted while sharing impressions of tanka. There were as many as six participants (eight including 染さん and me)! Just talking about the poems everyone brought made the 90 minutes fly by. I was glad so many different people joined. We're planning a second meeting in November, so please look forward to it.

Monday, August 3, 2026

I was off today, but I went to check out蔵六湖畔, a share-style book café that opened about an eight-minute walk from Osu Kannon Station.

Saturday, August 1, 2026

Today, starting at 12:00, the 4th Nagoya Ekishi-West Literary Marche was held, with seven people exhibiting. Because it was an extremely hot day, the venue was, unsurprisingly, hot and the exhibitors had a hard time. I'm thinking that from next year we should probably stop holding daytime events in the height of summer. Despite the heat, visitors kept coming, and there was an atmosphere where people could talk at leisure, so I think the exhibitors were able to interact with each other and with the customers who came. I don't often have the chance to meet so many creators at once, so it was a good opportunity to mingle. It was enjoyable, and new event ideas came up as well. In the evening, there was a shift to a library-related event. We welcomed Professor Takego Noguchi of Aoyama Gakuin University's Library and Information Science department, and I took part in a (somewhat presumptuous) conversation with him. The theme was 'reading barrier-free.' We based the discussion on 'Koko wa hon o kariru dake janai toshokan' (This Isn't Just a Library for Borrowing Books), which summarizes various initiatives I worked on during my time at the library. It was a low-key event, but many people gathered and Professor Noguchi seemed to really enjoy it. He gave the pleasant comment 'Let's do this again,' so I hope we can hold the next one somewhere around Tokyo.

Thursday, July 30, 2026

After the event on the 25th, we were closed on Sunday and Monday. Sales this week have been really low, and I'm blaming the heat and the heavy rain. This weekend — tomorrow — there are two events, and it's also the opening day of a new nearby hotel. They're setting up a small library (shelf) in a corner of the hotel, and we delivered about 60 books from our shop. Because the hotel's concept is train carriages and rooms, we selected books focused on trains around central Nagoya, neighborhood walking guides, and the culture and history of the Mikawa and Owari regions. This evening the hotel staff came and they filmed an interview with me and took photos. It looks like they will be published on the website and social media. Just before closing, a man who came in gave a somewhat exaggerated comment: 'I didn't know there was a place in Nagoya that conveys culture.'

Saturday, July 25, 2026

Today I came in a bit before noon, about an hour earlier than my usual start time, because there was a lecture event at 2 PM. When I arrived at the shop, the owner had already turned on the air conditioner in the event space (the second-floor gallery). The room had been set up yesterday, so all that was left was to set up the microphone and speakers. The temperature had started to cool, so maybe we'd manage despite the heat wave. Shortly before 1 PM, Mr. Yamamoto, the journalist I had asked to MC, arrived. I had him wait at the café River where I had reserved a seat—and to my surprise Professor Shindo, the lecturer, was already in the café! He must have arrived while I was in the back by the register. I immediately did a quick pre-event briefing with Mr. Yamamoto. As participants gradually arrived and registration at the counter got a bit busy, Zindies member Jizo came by! I only received the newly printed pamphlets from him and didn't get a proper chance to talk—I'm sorry about that. Because the event was on a Saturday afternoon it overlapped with the café's busy hours, and things were a little hectic. As it neared the start time, customers from the second floor came down saying the air conditioner wasn’t working! I rushed upstairs and found the AC running, but the seats near the windows were indeed hot. I went back to the first floor, grabbed the circulator we use at the register, brought it upstairs and set it up. Then I put the ceiling AC on swing. When it's on swing you can see it moving, so customers can tell the AC is operating. Still, it was hot. Our second-floor gallery has an entire west wall of glass doors and no curtains, so the late sun pours in. There was nothing we could do today, and it stayed hot, but since the literary market next Saturday will have many more people we need to do something about those windows. Local and prefectural assembly members also attended the lecture! As expected, Mr. Yamamoto's connections are impressive. Professor Shindo's passionate message reached the participants, and the Q&A in the latter half became an animated exchange. At the end there was a signing of the professor's book. The new copy we had prepared at the shop—and all the previously published books—sold out. After seeing the professors off and tidying up the venue a bit, I returned to the bookstore register and a young woman came in. I thought she might be a café customer, but she bought a tanka ZINE. When I asked, "Do you write tanka?" and we talked, it turned out she had come to Nagoya from Tokyo as a tourist. She had only just started writing tanka, so I introduced her to song collections by Nagoya poets. I told her to try visiting Heiwaen the next time she comes to Nagoya. Also, a customer who had reserved a signed copy of Mr. Kuroken's new book came in. Surprisingly, this person was also from Tokyo! They had come to Nagoya just to buy Kuroken's signed copy. When I told them we had recently held a talk event with Kuroken, they said they had wanted to attend but couldn't because of work. I mentioned that we are planning a mystery-solving game event with Kuroken before the end of the year. In the evening a very lovely young woman visited. She said she came introduced by Konatsumuri. (It turned out during our conversation that she is actually married.) She draws with colored pencils and has published a picture book with a local publisher; she showed it to me. The illustrations and story were very cute, and her colored-pencil technique was careful and beautiful. She met Kona at an event, had visited Kusasou Books in Moriyama, and at a large ZINE fair found and purchased my ZINE "ここは本をかりるだけじゃない図書館"—she showed me a copy covered in sticky notes. She told me, "Reading this, I realized there are such kind libraries." I told her I had already left my post, but that the initiatives at Moriyama Library and Shidami Library are continuing, and asked her to please visit them.

Friday, July 24, 2026

It's sweltering every day 💦💦 — I write that every time, but today, in particular, there are very few customers. At this temperature, going out to visit a bookstore might even be a dangerous idea. I did uchimizu (sprinkling water) for the first time this year. It was just after 4:00 PM, but the sunlight was still intense, and our shop gets strong late-afternoon sun; even after sprinkling, the water evaporated in no time. It was like pouring water on a hot stone. I sent a notice to all participants in tomorrow's event. The event starts at 2:00 PM, which is the hottest time of day, and most of the participants are probably visiting our shop for the first time. Many first-time visitors, especially older people, are not good with smartphone map apps and often get lost for 30 minutes to an hour. So I warned them, gave directions to the shop, and told them to look for the 喫茶リバー sign and the wooden hut as landmarks. I also reminded them of the shop's phone number. Tomorrow's venue is the gallery on the second floor, so I set things up today. All I had to do was line up chairs, but it was enough to make me sweat. Now, which book should I buy and take home today? I ended up buying one. A young man came in just before closing. When I spoke to him, he said he was from Moriyama and lived near a bookstore that helped me when I worked at the library. His workplace is in Endoji, and today he was walking around the west side of the station and happened to find the shop. I'm grateful.