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Is this your techo? If it’s okay, we’d like to see how you use it.

Makoto

This is a little notebook I carry around with me. Looking at it now, I see some money, business cards, envelopes, and labels from chocolate candies. Oh, and a map of Taiwan.

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Wow, this is cool.

Makoto

I got this from a kind boy working at the restaurant at Hotel Okura in Taiwan. His name was Chin, and he was studying Japanese. He gave it to me and did his best to explain the map to me in Japanese.

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That’s cute. I see spots like “Wonton soup shop” on here.

Makoto

He would work really hard filling it out during his breaks, and would give them out to Japanese customers. Every single one he handed out was handwritten. He wasn’t paid extra for any of that, and only did it so it could be of use to visitors from Japan. There’s no way I could throw something like this away, so I’ve carried it with me ever since. It’s like a good-luck charm.

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What a wonderful thing to receive from someone.

Makoto

I’ve also got a business card from a cute old lady at a tea shop in Taiwan. She taught me all about Chinese tea. “Tea in Taiwan isn’t about formalities,” she told me. “It’s about practicality.” The tea in her shop was absolutely delicious. Oh, and here you go. (Makoto suddenly sticks something in Masahiro’s techo.)

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Oh, it’s so cute! I’m so happy! (Laughs)

Makoto

This is a Fukuoka-exclusive sticker from the candy shop “Papabubble,” back when I designed packaging for them. I stick a lot of things in my pages, like sticky notes and washi tape. I really like how you can peel them off and reuse them. I have a huge stock of washi tape.

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What kinds of things do you write in your notebook?

Makoto

Hmm, I wonder if there’s anything I can show you. I only write dumb stuff in here. (Laughs)

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Oh, there’s a picture.

Makoto

That’s a barreleye fish. I was in the mood to draw one, so I looked it up and was shocked to see what the Chinese characters are for it. I made a note of it. Do you know about the barreleye fish? The top of its head is translucent, and the little dots that look like its eyes are actually its nose. The organs inside its head here are its eyes.

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These are the eyes?

Makoto

Yeah. Because it’s a deep-sea fish, maybe it only needs to see above it. But it’s cute, isn’t it? I’ve got this prepared as a topic of conversation just in case. They’ll say, “What is this?” and I can say, “You don’t know? This is a barreleye fish.” (Laughs)

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Do you have any pages we can take pictures of?

Makoto

This is an art museum I was thinking of going to when I visited Los Angeles.

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Do you bring your colored pencils with you on trips?

Makoto

Relatively often, yes. It’s useful to have if I find myself talking work with someone. I can ask them what color they’d like to make something, things like that. Sometimes I select and bring several colors.

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Wow, this drawing is amazing, too. What is this a note of?

Makoto

It’s a little boring, but it’s seasonal terms that are used to portray mountains in poetry. In spring, mountains “smile,” in summer, they “moisten,” in fall, they “dress up,” and in winter, they “sleep.” I think I learned about it in high school, but I forgot the summer term, so I made a note to remind myself. And that’s about it for my techo.

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Thank you so much for talking with us today, and even showing us how you use your notebook.

Makoto

I hope a lot of people will find happiness in the Bird, Flower, Willow and Cat Trio covers.

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Certainly. Thank you for your time today!

(The end)