Bijutsukai and Shin Bijutsukai are craft design books published during the Meiji period (1868–1912). Both contain beautiful designs created by various Japanese painters and designers. This collection of multicolored woodblock print designs was published by Unsodo, a Kyoto-based art publishing company and the only publisher of hand-printed woodblock books in Japan.



This Weeks book was created using a craft design selected from Bijutsukai.



The craft design consists of layers of pastel-colored geometric motifs with striking, thread-like red lines. Take a close look; you will see leaves and overlapping paper folded into triangles.

It is said that in the past, Japanese aristocrats used to write Waka poems on paper mulberry leaves instead of the Tanzaku paper strips used today. Their wishes for the Tanabata star festival were also written on paper mulberry leaves. It then became a time when “Kaji-no-ha ornaments” were regarded as a symbol of Tanabata decorations, made by hanging folded colored paper on a paper mulberry leaf and tying a string on it. These historical motifs are what is described in this design. However, it is interesting that the shapes and exquisite colors of the individual pieces give us a sense of the coming future.







The year 2025 is foil-pressed in white.







The back side is blue-green, matching the color of the leaves.







It is a fascinating design created more than 100 years ago. Keep it at your side, and enjoy its beauty and sparkling charm.

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

Introduction to the Unsodo series products

(Hobonichi Techo 2025 lineup)