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Masamune Kusano x junaidaThrough the Purple NightWeeks Hardcover Book / Weekly Horizontal / ENG or JPN edition / Jan start / Mon start

  • 2025 New

The song-art book Himitsu Stranger is based on the lyrics from 13 songs recorded by Masamune Kusano for the music album “Himitsu Studio” by his rock band Spitz. Artist junaida illustrated the lyrical stories for each of the songs. Inside the book is an illustration called Through the Purple Night, which was then chosen for this Weeks book cover.



Through the Purple Night was actually the first illustration junaida did among everything in the song-art book. It shows a forest enveloped in purple, with birds, cats, and other small animals, as well as trees, flowers, and other cute plants, topped off with some planets and other things. This really completes the look as the all-over print recreates this artwork and its unique floating feeling.







The cover material is a rough, textured canvas and the cover is a hardcover with a slight bend to it. The base color is the same white as featured in the original song-art book.







The cover and spine have the year 2025 foil-printed in gold for a simple, refreshing look.







This techo also includes a pencil board with Through the Purple Night. The front side has a scene that stirs the imagination, while the back shows details that really highlight the texture of junaida’s watercolor paintings.







Pair it with the techo to immerse yourself in the world of junaida’s art.







The song-art book Himitsu Stranger that this cover is based on is also for sale in the Hobonichi Store so you can experience the rich blend of lyrics with illustrated narratives.

When you order this Hobonichi Techo Weeks, you’ll receive a clear, adhesive corner pocket you can stick anywhere you like.







The book uses thin and light yet durable Tomoe River paper. This paper that underwent an overhaul with the 2024 edition techo is more resistant to bleed through, lighter despite being the same thickness, and has a smoother surface by adjusting the fibers of the paper.







The Weeks book has space for writing in plans or journal entries, and it also has 69 pages of grid paper memo pages in the back (73 pages in the English edition). The back of the book contains bonus pages, including Sample Symbols and Icons and Oodles of Noodles.







The Hobonichi Techo 2025 Weeks book comes in either English or Japanese. If you love this cover, then you can pick out which language you’d like in that book.

*The English edition book only comes as the January-start version.







If you’d like storage space or a way to change up the look of your Weeks book, you can customize your book by pairing it with a Weeks cover.



See Weeks cover lineup

©Kusano Masamune, junaida

About Masamune Kusano

Born in 1967. Musician. Formed the rock band Spitz in 1987 and sang vocals and played guitar. Their first major hit was the single Hibari no Kokoro in 1991. Since then, Kusano has written the lyrics and music for most of Spitz’s songs. Their latest album Himitsu Studio was released in May 2023 and was accompanied by a nationwide tour called Spitz Jamboree Tour ’23~’24 “Himitsu Studio” that ran from June 2023 to February 2024.

About junaida

Born in 1978. Painter and artist. Has won many awards and accolades for his work around the world, including being selected as an artist for HOME (published by Sun Reed) in the 2015 Bologna Illustrators Exhibition, Michi and MONSTERIUM (published by Fukuinkan Shoten) winning awards at the Japan Book Design Awards in the children’s book/illustrated book division, and MONSTERIUM winning the IBBY award (Peter Pan Prize). Has most recently been branching out, with a focus on creating picture books. Recent publications include This is Home (text by poet Shuntaro Tanikawa) (published by BlueSheep), World (published by Fukuinkan Shoten), and Tomoshibi (published by Sun Reed).

Putting a rich, beautiful world of artwork on a techo

When I first got the book Himitsu Stranger, it really surprised me. Masamune Kusano from Spitz wrote song lyrics that artist junaida then interpreted into illustrative stories. It really showed me the depth of Kusano’s work, beyond just hearing the songs. And more than anything I was struck by the beauty of that illustrated world. Having that appeal on a techo to make it accessible on a daily basis felt like a really appealing prospect, so I reached out to request a collaboration.



The A6 and A5 size covers have a layout that works directly from the cover of the Himitsu Stranger book. There are so many different motifs across the design that it’s fascinating to look through and never gets old. The back pocket is also a treat if you peek inside, as you can enjoy some artwork different from that on the outside.



The interior material is arranged with pencil drawings. From the 13 stories within the book, we’ve picked out which scenes best depict the passage of time and emotions and put them together for this techo design.



The Weeks cover features the image “Through the Purple Night.” I’d fallen in love with this image when I saw it on the title page and just knew that I wanted to put it on a Weeks techo.



The double-sided pencil board within the set also features “Through the Purple Night.” The front shows the art as it appeared in the book, and the back features a design based on a closeup of the art. I hope you’ll find both the composition of the scene-setting and the texture of the paint appealing.

Introduction to the Masamune Kusano x junaida series products

(Hobonichi Techo 2025 lineup)

Staff List

Photographer
Styled Images: Masahiro Tamura / Product Detail: Hiroyuki Oe
Stylist
Haruka Kimura
Masamune Kusano x junaidaThrough the Purple NightWeeks Hardcover Book / Weekly Horizontal / ENG or JPN edition / Jan start / Mon start
  1. ¥3,300(incl. tax)

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Compatible Techo Covers

Specifications

SizeH: 188 x W: 94 x T: 11 mm / H: 7.4" x W: 3.7" x T: 0.4"
*Specifications may vary slightly
WeightApprox. 140 g
Main materialRayon / Paper
Weeks Book (English / January Start)
LanguageEnglish
Pages 240 pages
Paper Type / Binding Thin, light Tomoe River paper resistant to bleeding and designed for planners / Stitch-binding
Graph Paper Size3.55 mm
Start of WeekMonday-start week
Yearly Calendar2024, 2025, 2026
Yearly IndexJan. - Dec. 2025 (2 pages)
Monthly CalendarDec. 2024 - Mar. 2026 (32 pages)
Daily QuotesOne per week (English)
Weekly CalendarNov. 25, 2024 - Jan. 4, 2026 (116 pages)
*All weekly pages include quotes.
Graph Paper73 pages
Bonus PagesShorthand Note-Taking / Using Common Items to Measure Size / Favorites / My 100 / Sample Symbols and Icons / Oodles of Noodles / 365 Days Check-Off Sheet / Addresses / Personal Notes
Listed InformationWeek of the year / Moon phase (weekly pages include every phase, monthly calendars only include full and new moon)
OtherSee the Exploring Each Type page for more details
Weeks Book (Japanese / January Start)
LanguageJapanese
Pages240 pages
Paper Type / BindingThin, light Tomoe River paper resistant to bleeding and designed for planners / Stitch-binding
Graph Paper Size3.55 mm
Start of WeekMonday-start week
Yearly Calendar2024, 2025, 2026
Yearly IndexJan. - Dec. 2025 (2 pages)
Monthly CalendarDec. 2024 - Mar. 2026 (32 pages)
Daily QuotesOne per week (Japanese)
Weekly Pages Nov. 25, 2024 - Jan. 4, 2026 (116 pages)
*All weekly pages include quotes.
Graph Paper69 pages
Bonus PagesShorthand Note-Taking / Using Common Items to Measure Size / My 100 / Sample Symbols and Icons / Recommended Noodle List of 47 Prefectures / Solar Terms / Emergency Preparedness / Age Table / Conversion Chart / Getting the most of Hobonichi / Contact List / Personal Notes
Listed InformationWeek of the year / Rokuyo (traditional Japanese calendar) / Solar terms / Japanese holidays / Moon phase (weekly pages include every phase, monthly calendars only include full and new moon)
OtherSee the Exploring Each Type page for more details

Please Read Before You Buy

In order to provide you with the most satisfaction for your product, we've compiled a list of warnings, potential issues, and tips to keep in mind for this particular product. Please be sure to read this information carefully before placing your order.

Test fountain pens before regular use

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.

Cover corners are slightly bumpy and shiny

The corners of the cover contain light traces of press marks, shines, and lumps. This is an unavoidable part of the manufacturing process.

Coloring may stain other objects

The dye in the cover may stain other objects if it rubs against or sticks to them, especially if the cover is wet from water or sweat from your hands. Please store with care.

Imprinted year numbers may peel

The numbers of the year are stamped onto the cover in metallic or other colored leaf, so strong rubbing or everyday use may cause the numbers to peel off.

Avoid storing in hot and humid places

Please avoid storing your product in hot, humid places or placing it atop other objects for long periods of time as this may result in lower quality and color stains.

User recommendations

If you’ve used any of these products, we welcome your notes on what you like about them or what led you to buy them so we can share it with customers who are currently considering these products. We’d also love to welcome comments from customers who purchased their techo outside the Hobonichi Store or received their book as a gift.

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