No matter what it is, things eventually break. But it's possible to breathe new life into broken things. The beautiful world of talented craftsmen. Passion for Craftsmanship This room is today's stage. The tools that the craftsman will use are... ...handmade chisels... ...brushes... glue... an iron... ...and finally, several types of paper and cloth. This is the craftsman we will introduce: Mr. Okano Nobuo And the thing that Mr. Okano fixes... ...Books! Even books with all sorts of damage after a lifetime of use-- when the craftsman applies his skills, they become as good as new. This English picture book can be returned to it's former beauty. Ever since he first heard that this could be done 33 years ago, he has applied those skills to fix precious books to their original state. Restoring the Volumes of your Youth. This is the craftsman's workshop, in Tokyo's Suidobashi area. Today a man has come to pay a visit. "This is the book we talked about..." "This is the English dictionary I used when I was young." "My daughter is graduating to university this year, and I told her that I would give this dictionary to use..." "... but she said she would be too embarassed to bring it with her." This dictionary is one that the customer, Mr. Takahashi, recieved as a gift when he was in middle school. During his time as a student, as well as a young worker he used this dictionary, and it has seen better days. "What are these initials here?" "Ah, that's something that I was hoping you would erase...." (laughs) "Why is that?" "Well, because they are the initials of my high school sweetheart." The more the dictionary is used, the more precious it has become. Mr. Takahashi wants to let his daughter enjoy his treasured dictionary as well. He has entrusted that wish to this craftsman's skill. The repair begins with a thorough inspection of the book's condition. The beaten-up front cover has been torn from the book, and there are other pages which are torn. The pages themselves have very little damage, but the book as a whole is in a terrible state. The spine of the closed book has a strange twist. It's called the spine, but... if you were to compare it to a person, it's more like the hips. It's the area which is the most sensitive. He will start from the curve on the spine, and apply pressure. He clamps the book with this tool, and with a homemade chizel he scrapes away the old glue. If the paper has developed a bad habit, it's very difficult to change it, so if we bring the spine back to it's original shape first it will be more precise. Now we can see the grain of the paper. He repositions the book in the clamp, and produces a good curve. The next part he will repair is a map attached to the back cover. It's also called the "Mikaeshi". The maps in the front and back are detached, and in a terrible state. He will use a method called "Urauchi" to repair the missing parts of the map. The map parts can be dampened, mounted on glass, and carefully spread flat. By doing this, he can make sure that there are no interruptions, and even torn words can be easilly read. Once it dries, he applies glue, and attaches it to a new sheet of paper. By using this method, he can help prevent the old paper from accumulating any more damage. The nearly-destroyed map has once again become the first page of this book. Next is fixing the corners of the book, where there are many folds. Almost every page is folded at the corners. The craftsman has produced an iron. The folded corners are soaked in a bit of water, and one by one carefully ironed flat. "About how many pages are there?" "This book has... about one thousand pages, I think." "If I knew the number, it would be depressing, so I really don't need to know." "This is the part I really don't want to do, but..." "...after I do this, the book is going to look completely different than before, so it's worth it." This part is really boring, but I guess it can't always be fun. "I'm finished!" It took four hours to flattened them all. Next are the pages which the customer dyed purple with ink when he was young. As the pages are so thin, it can't be done by shaving the edge. The ink has soaked deep into the pages, but he can use this machine to slice them clean. To this reminder of his youth, as well... ...farewell. I took a rather wide slice to ensure that the dye is completely removed from the pages. The pages have been cut carefully so that that characters on the page have not been truncated. Finally, with this method "segatame" (spine stiffening) he will return the original shape of the book. While tapping the spine with a mallet, he will encourage a new curve to develop in the spine. Then, he brushes on some glue, attaches a bookmark, and attaches some reinforcing cloth and paper to the spine. The repairs on the book block are complete. Last is the deteriorated leather cover. It has been reinforced with gum tape, but as you would expect, it can no longer be used. He attaches a durable goat leather cover, and the repairs are complete. The worn out dictionary has been revitalized to it's former beauty. The corners of the book which were badly folded are now beautifully crisp-- just like new. The severely damaged maps inside each cover can now be used again. The edges of the pages themselves have also been restored to their original color. Just the emblem from the original cover has been kept, and this way can be passed on from father to daughter. Books are not just created as treasures. On the contrary, as you use them, you come to love what is written inside. The customer has come again to pick up the restored book. This time, his daughter has come with him. "This is amazing!" "The intitials we talked about are gone without a trace." "That's the thing I checked for first." "Please study hard!" "I will, thank you very much." From father to daugher, the pages of this precious book will be turned once again.
