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Japanese Bookbinding

Accordion folds, long scrolls, pages that form pouches or flutter like butterfly wings - not flights of fancy but the stuff of which books are made in Japan, that is. Add silk thread for the binding, coaxed into patterns of tortoise shells, hemp leaves or motifs from distant China, attach a cover of decorative paper and a gold-flecked title strip, and you have one of the world's most versatile and elegant bookbinding styles. Here, for the first time in English, are easy-to-follow instructions for making all the major, historically important styles of Japanese bindings and traditional book cases - the custom-made folding boxes that afford handsome protection for Japan's exquisite books.