Hobonichi x Tomitaro Makino: Yamazakura Grid Notebook (Tomoe River Paper)

This cover design is in collaboration with the botanical illustration by Dr. Tomitaro Makino, a botanist known as the Father of Japanese Botany.

The drawing of cherry blossoms drawn with precise lines to the last detail is the first illustration of “Yamazakura,” meaning “mountain cherry,” which is the opening illustration of the first volume of his “Flora Japonica” book published in 1900. Dr. Tomitaro Makino’s drawing of the Yamazakura cherry tree as a symbolic Japanese plant is characterized by its dazzlingly detailed line drawings.

The botanical illustrations, born from a keen eye for observation, knowledge, and experience, make this techo an ideal companion for your daily life.

The illustrations that have become one of Dr. Makino’s masterpieces were drawn about 120 years ago during the Meiji Era, using loupes and microscopes for detailed observation and creating drawings that show the entire shape of the Yamazakura branches, shapes of the petals, and structures of various parts. Using a Makie painting brush with a bundle of mouse hairs, they are expressed clearly through shading that conveys the solidity of the flower's living petals.

You’ll feel just like you’re using a Hobonichi Techo thanks to this notebook’s slim, light, and durable Tomoe River paper. The A6-size book is 8mm thick and contains 240 pages, while the A5-size book is 10mm thick and contains 288 pages. Both notebooks lay completely flat on a desk, allowing them to fit an immense amount of contents in their pages while still providing an incredibly comfortable writing experience.

The 3.7mm graph-paper squares allow users to feel as if the notebook is simply a continuation of the blank graph paper pages featured in the back of the Hobonichi Techo.

The Hobonichi Plain Notebook is split into four sections. Every 60-page section in the A6-size book, and every 72-page section in the A5-size book, is printed with a different ink color, starting with red and moving to blue, green, and purple. This allows the notebook to be used for several different themes, and makes it easier to find pages later on.

Each Hobonichi Grid Notebook can be used with its corresponding Hobonichi Techo cover size.

The notebook is also a great supplement to the Hobonichi Techo, or simply a smaller-size notebook to keep by your side for filling with lots of writings or drawings.

The Hobonichi Plain Notebook is roughly the same size as the 6-month Hobonichi Techo Avec. We recommend pairing an Avec with a Hobonichi Plain Notebook since they work so well together; the Avec can be inserted into the left side of the techo cover, with a Plain Notebook inserted into the right side. This keeps the books comfortably paired while supplementing the Avec with plenty of plain graph paper.

Note: The Hobonichi Techo's Tomoe River paper is designed to prevent bleed-through, but some fountain pens and water-based ink pens are not compatible with this paper. When switching to a new pen, we recommend testing the pen somewhere in the book, such as the back memo pages, to see if the ink bleeds through or takes an especially long time to dry.

Tip: Keep your notebook clean without compromising the appearance with the MIDORI PVC Notebook cover which is sold separately in store.

For the full collection of Hobonichi items; https://www.stickerrificstore.com/collections/Hobonichi