Past Shop Diary entries

Saturday, September 19, 2026

Before going to work I stopped by the independent bookstore Lbio in Kita Ward. A book market organized by the owners of the shared shelves was underway. Familiar zine creators were selling their work and everyone looked happy. Yodaka Some, who would be holding a poetry reading at my place that evening, was also vending there, and I worried a little whether they'd be okay since they had an event later that night. On the way home I unusually decided to take the bus; I went to the stop and boarded a bus bound for my destination, but it turned out to be a circulator that took a huge detour, so I got off at a stop near the subway (not my actual destination) and somehow made it to work on time. Riding an unfamiliar route is a bit fun. After arriving at the shop, two zine creators visited. One was Iyo, who specializes in horror. They delivered their new zine, Sunlight. The cover was eerie and scary lol. The other was Nando Nezumi, a public-bath (sento) researcher. They brought flyers for an event. My shop doesn't accept flyers left freely, but I can insert them into zines or hand them to customers who might be interested, so I took a few. From 7:00 pm there was Yodaka Some's event "Poem Reading," a program in which Yodaka reads their own poems aloud. Yodaka had asked me to read as well, so they told me in advance which poem I would read and I practiced reading it at home. When I worked at the library I used to read aloud thousands of folktales and poetry collections (I started that during the long periods at home in the COVID-19 pandemic), so it had been a while since I read aloud. Contemporary poetry was difficult, but after reading it several times I began to feel myself entering Yodaka's poetic world.

Friday, September 18, 2026

Today is a weekday, but Kissa River (the café) is closed. The owner is away all day for a dance gig. Our part‑time staff couldn't make it either. So the afternoon is quieter than usual. With the Asian Games starting tomorrow, a tall foreign-looking man who seemed to be an athlete came in earlier wanting coffee, but unfortunately I had to point him to a nearby café. In broken English I asked, "Volleyball?" and he said he was a handball player. I forgot to ask which country he was from! I published a new event yesterday. On Thursday, October 8 at 7:00 pm we'll hold a reading group with ZINE creators Saki Shiori (a two-person unit). The theme is "Miri-shira Reading Group — I haven't read it, but I can't say that now so I'll say it!" As the title suggests, it sounds like a very fun session where we imagine and discuss the plots of classics people haven't actually read yet. I actually asked Saki when their next ZINE is coming out and they said they didn't have any ideas, so I suggested we hold an editorial meeting event here — and that's how this event was decided. https://zindies.co/events/329?locale=ja We're also revising another event. The reading group for Keigo Higashino, which we had asked Mephisto Prize-winning author Kenji Kuroda to host, wasn't getting much reaction, so Kenji and I discussed the assigned book and decided to reset it with "Swans and Bats." We're redoing the flyer — hope more people sign up. https://zindies.co/events/297?locale=ja Oh, and poet Satsuki Suzuki messaged saying that Shuta Fujii himself will attend the reading of "Perspective"! I thought it might be a joke, but he actually replied on X. So the author himself will be our guest. We redid the flyer and reannounced it on social media, and we've already received a registration. https://zindies.co/events/327?locale=ja In the evening a young man dropped by — he came from Hamamatsu for a live show. He said he finished a book on the train and came to look for a bookstore here — that made me happy. When I asked what authors he reads he said Mieko Kawakami. I explained that we mainly stock authors connected to Nagoya, but I told him about a book a young customer recommended about a month ago and that we decided to stock: "Call Me If You Feel Like Dying." He bought it. Great! Before closing, ZINE creator and editor Yuzuha visited after a long time. Regular customer Chiharu also came in, and the two of them were lively talking about writers. A young woman also stopped by on her way home from a part‑time job at a department store. She said she likes books about the town's history and the past. She bought a ZINE about sento (public baths). Thanks! I asked Yuzuha to order some new titles for us. I'll let you know when they arrive. I also invited Chiharu to Saturday night's poetry reading by Yodaka Some.

Thursday, September 17, 2026

Today the sun came out for the first time in a while, and it didn’t rain all day. It’s probably the third day since the start of September that it hasn’t rained in Nagoya. Still, the humidity was high, so it was very muggy. Customer numbers are as low as ever, but today a couple of tanka poets stopped by. One was Satsuki Suzuki, the editor of the Tokai Tanka Anthology "Seeds of Song." Ms. Suzuki will be hosting a tanka event on October 2, the "Nagoya Station West Tanka Reading Group — Shuta Fujii’s poetry collection 'Perspective'," so we talked about that. Now that the reading group is officially confirmed, I called the publisher of Perspective, Gendai Tanka-sha. Because they’re based in Kyoto, getting copies through our distributor wouldn’t have made it in time for October 2, so I placed a phone order. The other poet was Kei, who dropped by for the first time in a while. She was on her way to get a passport. Lucky her. Today’s arrivals included a Futaba Bunko paperback: Yasuko Higashiyama, a writer from Seto City, has a new book titled "Where Is the Ideal Home?" — a linked short-story collection about an architect that explores themes of home and life. It looks interesting. We’ve been indebted to Higashiyama before when she gave a talk about her previous book "Even Cats Wander into Great Authors." Apparently Higashiyama will be giving a talk at Seto City Library this coming Sunday the 20th. http://www.lib.seto.aichi.jp/news/YasukoHigashiyama-talkevent.html This isn’t work-related, but I’m scheduled to give a talk at the library in Kameyama City, Mie Prefecture on Tuesday, November 3 (a national holiday), so I consulted with an AI to decide the theme. The theme is: "Libraries begin with someone's 'trouble' — connecting books and people, and connecting communities through libraries." In past talks about libraries I’ve tended to spend the time listing and reporting on things we’ve done, so I’m thinking of changing that approach a bit for this one. I’ll let you know once the official announcement is ready.

Friday, September 11, 2026

　25年前の9月11日は、まだ丸善に勤めていて、翌月10月1日に京都河原町店店長から名古屋栄店店長として異動する前で、東京の丸の内に大きな本屋を作ろうと地主とかが計画をしていて、それに応募するという仕事が舞い込んできた時期でした。急遽名古屋から東京に出張して一ヶ月滞在して、出店のためのプレゼン資料作りをすることになったのでした。その宿泊先、青砥にあった丸善の社員寮の一室で、夜中家族から電話があり同時多発テロのニュースを聞いたのでした。寮の部屋にはテレビがなかったので、ラジオで報道をきいていたのを覚えています。あれから25年、世界中で戦争が続き、どんどん平和が遠のいている気がします。 　不穏な空気が世界中にただようなか、月末のプレゼン当日まで東京に滞在して、無事プレゼンを終えてその足で名古屋に赴任しました。プレゼンの成果か、もともと出来レースだったのかわかりませんが、無事丸善が書店を出店することが決まり、いまの丸善丸の内店ができたのでした。あのまま丸の内店の仕事させてもらってたら、会社辞めなかっただろうなと今でも思います。あの立地で本屋できるって、そんなチャンスそうそうありませんしね。 　さて、きょうもグズついた天気で、来客はほとんどなくて、入荷してきた本の登録とかしていました。入荷したなかでの注目は、遊廓の研究で有名な加藤晴美先生の『遊廓を生きる／遊廓を記憶する』ひつじ書房刊https://www.hituzi.co.jp/hituzibooks/ISBN978-4-8234-1352-0.htm です。来月、カストリ 書房さんと色街写真家の紅子さんの写真展が当店２階のギャラリーで開催されるのと、今月下旬に地元東海遊里史研究会による中村遊廓の講座を開催するのにちょうどいいタイミングでの出版でした。当店での講座「初心者のための遊廓入門〜中村遊廓の歴史を中心に〜」は第一回を9月２6日に、第２回を11月28日に開催するのですが、すでに第一回は満席、第二回も残りわずかとなっているほどの人気です。 　遊廓をはじめとする、日本の「性売買・性産業」の歴史を分かりやすく教えてもらう企画なのですが、今回の新刊はまさにぴったりの本だと思います。内容がぴったりだったので、ひつじ書房さんに電話して追加を頼んでおきました。入荷は２６日の講座ぎりぎり間に合うかどうかってところ。 　そういえば、店頭の「東海遊廓史要」の在庫が薄くなっていることに気がついて、そのうえ4巻目がでたのをすっかり忘れていたことを思い出し、あわててカストリ 出版の渡辺社長にメールして発注。来週には追加が届きそう。結構な冊数なので仕入れ金額が気になるけど、講座と写真展で売れることを期待。 　仕入れ作業のあいまに、新しいイベントの案内チラシを作成してました。イベントは東京の荻窪で本屋Titleを営まれている辻山良雄さんの新刊『本とねこと青い自転車』刊行記念トークイベントです。12月1日（火）19時より。詳しくはZindiesのイベントコーナーを。https://zindies.co/events/325?locale=ja 　辻山さんは名古屋でも勤務されていたので、名古屋にちなんだ方なんです。 閉店まえに、ひさしぶりに常連のちはるさん来店。ちょっと体調くずしてるようでしたが、きょうはとっても元気そうでした。いまからNHKの短歌の講座ですって。がんばるなあ。才能と努力の人ね。 　きょうもレジ以外は忙しい一日でした。 　 　

Thursday, September 10, 2026

Since the heavy rain the day before yesterday, Nagoya's weather has been unsettled and I feel like we haven't seen the sun for a while. It rained again this afternoon. It wasn't very heavy, which was a relief, but I heard the shinkansen and other trains were delayed. Despite the weather, quite a few customers came by and I had many conversations. Picture-book author Yukako Minami, a big fan of Noran Nijino, stopped by the shop while she was in the Meieki (Nagoya Station) area on other business. She even brought me a souvenir! She shared some Nontan gachapon toys that she loves. The shop was quiet, so we went to Kissa River and had a long, leisurely chat. Most of our conversation was about Noran Nijino's work. Since she liked Noran so much, I asked if she would join a reading group. I'll let you know once we set a date. By the time I had written this it was closing time. I'll continue later. In the evening, Chikura, a member of Zindies, came by. He stopped in on his way back from Kyoto. He reported that when he presented Zindies at the recent Code4lib, people from libraries didn't seem very interested in zines — only the tech crowd might have been. I encouraged him to try exhibiting at a general fair. While I was talking with Chikura, two young men came in one after the other. One of them was very interested in zines about yūkaku (the old licensed pleasure quarters) and said, "I don't really have any particular interests right now, but yūkaku sounds interesting, so I might look into it." He didn't seem to know much about what yūkaku were, so I'd be happy if he looked them up. The other young man was on his way from Hamamatsu to visit his older brother in Hiroshima and stopped by while waiting for a highway bus. He seemed to like bookstores and often goes to Yajimaya at Meiwan. It was unusual and fun to talk with a book-loving young man.

Tuesday, September 8, 2026

Today in Nagoya the afternoon brought heavy rain — really at a disaster level. It was reportedly the heaviest downpour on record, and evacuation orders have been issued for almost the entire city of Nagoya due to heavy rain and the risk of river flooding (these orders are still in effect at the time of writing). The area west of the station (Ekinishi), which tends to flood, was at risk, but fortunately our shop did not get inundated. Despite the heavy rain, quite a few customers came by. A librarian from Tokyo stopped in on their way back from a library event held in Ise yesterday (https://wiki.code4lib.jp/wiki/C4ljp2025) — their return shinkansen was risky, so I had them go back to Nagoya Station quickly — and a local doujin circle, Bungei Chubu, came to deliver back issues. Two copies of my zine 'A Library That's Not Just for Borrowing Books' sold. I'm very grateful. Also, while talking with a young customer from Toyohashi, I learned they write novels and said they'd like to get their work into book form someday; I suggested making it into a zine as a first step. In the evening, evacuation orders were issued across the city one after another, and city buses and the subway suspended service on all lines, so I couldn't get home. I bought rice balls and water at a nearby convenience store and decided to stay at the shop until the subway resumed. Judging from the current situation, it might not run until the first trains tomorrow morning. Fortunately the power is still on, so it's not a big problem.

Saturday, September 5, 2026

Yesterday I attended an evening meeting in Tokyo and stayed overnight, so today I took the shinkansen from Tokyo Station back to Nagoya. After the meeting, at the social gathering an interesting book came up in conversation, so I stopped by the Maruzen bookstore in Marunouchi before boarding the shinkansen to try to buy it. Search results suggested it was in stock, but I couldn't find it on the shelf and unfortunately left Tokyo Station without buying it. The book in question was "Living the Continuation of That Day" — people said reading it makes you want to talk about it with someone, though whether it's actually good is another matter. Intriguing, right? A conversation you would expect at a gathering of book lovers. https://www.tsogen.co.jp/sp/isbn/9784488029548 On the shinkansen I had Kiyoken's shumai bento and got into a travel mood; before I knew it we had arrived at Nagoya Station. There's a talk event tonight, so I spent the day at the register preparing flyers and the like. Oh — new arrivals came in. A new book by popular tanka poet Soichi Chigusa, who is from Nagoya, arrived from the publisher Seijisha: the tanka collection "April Zōshi." The design is stylish and delicate, so we wrapped the copies on display in plastic; I left one unwrapped as a display copy. I also stocked a new ZINE. Someone I met at a ZINE event made one with their friends, so I took a few copies on consignment. It was their first ZINE and the type is extremely small — at my age I probably can't read it comfortably. If I force myself to read it I'll risk my eyes, but it seems fine for younger readers, so I'll let it be. Still, I'd like them to be a bit more considerate next time. Accessibility for reading is something I'd like to see considered even in the ZINE world. Just after 5 p.m. people began arriving for tonight's event. Chikura, a member of Zindies, also stopped by. They will be speaking at the Code4Lib JAPAN Conference 2026 at Kogakkan University in Ise starting tomorrow, and they joined tonight's event before that. Coincidentally, the speaker Kazufumi Iida also came by the store, so I introduced them. I wonder if Iida found it interesting. About 20 people attended Iida's talk. Remarkably, participants had come from Saitama, Tokyo, Kanagawa, Toyama, Kyoto, and of course locally as well. More than half of those attending were from libraries, and there were also bookstore staff among them. The theme of Iida's talk was "Ten Things People Who Work with Books Should Consider in a World Where 90% Read Few Books." Having spent my life among people who love printed text, I was deeply rooted in the old idea that reading equals reading printed characters, and I had a hard time adapting to younger people's new forms of reading. But it's clear we need to be more flexible in how we think about the act of "reading." From the floor, a bookseller from Toyama spoke about their shop's "Night Reading" initiative held in the bookstore, and a children's bookshop from Kanagawa talked about online reading groups with mothers. It seems many initiatives are growing in the field. The afterparty was a small group at a nearby Furaibo. I joined after finishing closing duties at the shop. During the talk, Iida mentioned that postwar reading-promotion activities originally targeted adults as well, which made me think that it may be somewhat wrong that reading promotion has become focused primarily on children. Reading-promotion efforts aimed at young people have already produced certain effects (even if those forms of reading were unexpected by older generations), and now it seems that promoting reading among adults may be what's needed. For people who don't read books, we should use every means to show that "reading" can be enjoyable. If we can do that, perhaps that's enough. Kazufumi Iida's next talk will be on Friday, November 6, at 19:00. The theme will be "Reading Comprehension and Its Subtle Relationship with Reading." Stay tuned. https://zindies.co/events/318?locale=ja

Friday, September 4, 2026

I took the day off today to take care of some errands. My energy still hasn't fully recovered, but I'm slowly getting my body moving. In the afternoon I took the Shinkansen to Tokyo. I got off at Shin-Yokohama to visit Earth Plaza (Kanagawa Prefectural Center for Global Citizens). A librarian who has been helping me started working this week, so I went to say hello. In the evening I had a meeting and a social gathering in Tokyo.

Thursday, September 3, 2026

Before I knew it, it's already September 3. I came down with something last Friday and was bedridden until yesterday—probably a cold or the flu. I went home for the weekend, but I ended up passing it to two of the three family members I was with; those two are still laid up. I'm still low on energy and a bit unsteady. Worse, my voice is hoarse, so it's frustrating not being able to speak well when serving customers. The weather's been on and off with rain, sometimes heavy, so it's been very unstable. Naturally there have been fewer customers. Still, a few young people stopped by and bought ZINEs. Some came from Hamamatsu, some even from Yamagata. A young man who came without an umbrella seems to live nearby. He was interested in Kazufumi Iida's event on the 5th, so I told him he could just drop in on the day. The day after tomorrow is Iida's talk. Actually, Iida has talk events coming up on November 6 and February 16 next year. November's talk will be about "The Myth that Young People's Reading Comprehension Is Declining." February's event will be a panel discussion on school libraries, youth reading, and reading accessibility. Please look forward to them!

Saturday, August 29, 2026

With a terrible cough and runny nose — feeling as sick as I ever have in my life — I went to visit a grave. I rented a car at Hiroshima Station and drove for about an hour. On the way back I dropped my family off at the hotel and returned the rental car by myself. After that I went to the new Hiroshima City Central Library. I felt so awful that I only did a quick walk-around, but it's even more wonderful than I imagined! To have a library like that right in front of the station — young people in Hiroshima are lucky. I went back to Hiroshima Station, took the city tram to the hotel, and had no appetite, so I slept until morning. I took some medicine, so my cough and runny nose have calmed down for now, but I want to get back to Nagoya and sleep.

Friday, August 28, 2026

Work day. First, I stocked a ZINE artbook by sumi-e (ink-wash) artist and Buddhist monk Yu Hasegawa — https://www.instagram.com/kannonji81/?hl=ja Apparently they once aimed to be a manga artist and even worked as an assistant. Their drawing skills are incredible; the ink paintings of warriors and horses are especially powerful. Yu is the deputy head priest at Kannonji in Tsushima and is very active with live painting and solo shows around Tsushima and Ama City. Please do take a look at the ZINE. Mr. Ueno, the creator of the Shakespeare karuta "Saō Hyakunin-ikku" (an original karuta collecting 100 memorable lines spoken by characters from Shakespeare's works), stopped by with additional copies plus a delivery note and invoice. It's great for lovers of world literature and for board game fans as well! There was no sample copy in the shop, so he agreed to bring a sample that shows the contents next time. This afternoon I went to the shop again. At 2:00 pm the ZINE creators Saki and Shiori — together known as "SakiShiori" — visited, and they even had a ten-month-old baby with them! I read a picture book to the baby right away. I had asked them for additional ZINEs, but one of the three items sold after I asked, so we couldn't secure a replacement for that one — my apologies. They will bring it next time. Their visit today was to discuss holding a reading-event at our shop. It looks like it will be a somewhat unusual book-club-style event. Once their plan is finalized, we'll announce it. Stay tuned! I've had terrible rhinitis since this morning, basically a flood of a runny nose. I need to go back to my hometown of Hiroshima and Kure for a memorial service starting tomorrow, so I decided to leave early to visit the ENT clinic today. Yesterday I went to get blood-pressure medication; today I'll pick up medicine for the rhinitis. It's nothing serious, so please don't worry.

Thursday, August 27, 2026

Today was a workday, but I had to go out for a hospital visit from around 3:00 PM until about 6:00 PM. I arrived at the shop at 1:00 PM as usual. Then I noticed a few ZINEs stacked on the register counter (40 cm wide). Maybe a customer left them? I decided to leave them as they were. For the first time in a while we had three packages: one from Nippan, one from Transview, and one letter pack. I started by opening them. From Nippan came 20 copies of the book for the September 5 event. I was glad they arrived safely. But since the number of participants had already reached 20, I worried it might not be enough and hurriedly called the publisher to order more. I'm not sure they'll arrive in time for the event. From Transview came a new essay collection by Mr. Tsujiyama of the bookstore "Title." The moment I opened it I was surprised—the binding was so beautiful I hesitated to touch it with bare hands. It looked as if it could be a new poetry collection from Tanka Kenkyusha. I quickly wrapped each copy in plastic and displayed them face-up. I didn't even want to make a display copy; they were all wrapped. I'm sorry, but I want them to be bought in pristine condition. The letter pack contained the latest issue of Tanka Kenkyu from Tanka Kenkyusha. Even a small shop like ours is grateful to receive it every issue. The books on the counter had been chosen by a pair of young people from Osaka. They were in Nagoya for work, I think, and found our shop while looking for bookstores on Google Maps. I'm very grateful they spotted us. When I returned from the hospital in the evening, a friend from a university hospital in Tokyo came to the shop. It's been years — we're connected through hospital library work. We talked about the public lectures they offer at their current university hospital. When I asked which lectures are popular, they said topics like dementia, sleep, and hearing loss are very popular. But that doesn't necessarily translate into an immediate increase in outpatient visits. Their hospital is famous for cochlear implants, and they even hold concerts by an ensemble made up of musicians who are cochlear implant users. They told me lots of fascinating stories. After closing, I went to a drinking party with Professor Noguchi from Aoyama Gakuin University and others near the west side of the station. We've decided to hold a school library talk event at our shop next February! Details to come. Please look forward to it.

Wednesday, August 26, 2026

The shop was open today, but I had the day off. In the evening I attended a talk event by Komone at Nagoya University. Today's talk featured two people: the owner of 心音ブックス in Motoyama and the president of BOOK STORE Lbio in Kita Ward. Both of them come from industries other than bookstores. Both shops rely mainly on so‑called shared shelves. 心音ブックス's shared shelf has over 100 entries, and Lbio recently expanded their shelving to just under 60. There is a shelf owner for each shelf, so it seems necessary to raise their satisfaction and keep them engaged. The diversity of shelf owners enriches the selection on the shared shelves and makes it more likely that visiting customers (some of whom may also be other shelf owners) will pick things up. To increase shelf owners' satisfaction, I think it's important to hold various exchange meetings for them and provide opportunities for new encounters. What about actual book sales? In both shops the shelf owner communities seem active, so customer numbers are likely rising accordingly. When I asked the two speakers what draws shelf owners together, they said it was the shop owners' personalities. That may be true at first, but later the personalities of the gathered shelf owners themselves help create a good atmosphere. Books and goods created by enthusiastic shelf owners will probably sell well to customers. It was a very informative talk event.

Tuesday, August 25, 2026

This month is already in its last week, so I checked this month's purchases. I photographed the invoices and had Chappie do the calculations. Compared with daily sales, the amount for direct purchases (ZINEs and others) is high. Overall, it looks like we're within budget. There was one group of customers buying books. One register transaction. I might forget how to use the register. We're holding a talk event on November 28. We'll invite Megumi Tsuji, the author of Akita Shoten's comic "のこりものにはメシがある". It's a coming-of-age story about young repatriates from Manchuria set in postwar Nagoya's black market era. The scenery of the station's west side(?) is depicted. I'm looking forward to seeing what kinds of black-market food will appear. The author recently visited the station west area for research, so we'll formally invite her to speak. We'll also have Professor Hayashi, author of "Nagoya Station West Time Trip" (Fubai-sha), as a guest. In the afternoon, Kotobuki from the Tokai Pleasure-District History Research Group will hold a lecture, so Kotobuki should be able to join us after it ends. I got information from Jizo, a member of Zindies: there seems to be a group in American libraries working on ZINE archives (ZINE librarians). https://www.zinelibraries.info/ There are even photos showing the Zine Librarians unConference (ZLuC) held in New York in 2024! Amazing — that's so American libraries. I'd love to participate someday. A message from Akira Yoshikai, who works on simplified Japanese. He'll be coming to Nagoya in December and asked if we could hold a talk event! He seems to be free in the afternoon, so maybe a library in the afternoon and our shop in the evening — we'll quickly look into venues. We should be able to manage an evening event at our shop. Three additional ZINEs by illustrator Keita Mizutani arrived. Lately it seems he's getting more work with publishers, which makes me happy. Near closing time a young customer came in and bought three ZINEs! They were today's second customer, so I ended up talking with them a lot. They said Osu Kannon is within their activity area, so I introduced them to Kuroroku lakeside and Bookshelf Detective. Sales were low again today, but it was another good day.

Monday, August 24, 2026

Today is Monday and I'm off. In the afternoon I had a meeting with Miko about a ZINE event in Mie. I'm an advisor. We've already reserved a venue in Kuwana for the end of February next year, so this was kind of a kickoff meeting for that. But it was just the two of us. 　Miko was originally part of a duo, but one person dropped out and she was feeling down, so part of the meeting was to cheer her up. From now on she'll basically have to run things on her own, so we need to make a proper plan early. Today we decided things like the event name and the number of vendor booths. It feels like it's gradually taking shape.

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.