The secret of evolution is adaptation and change, so Morioka bookseller in Tokyo has opened a new original bookstore where he sells one book at a time.
"Issatsu, isshitsu", or "a room, a book", is his motto that comes from reflections with a group of creative people on how to upgrade the role of bookstores in the digital age. So while you scan all the knowledge and the books you read more and more through electronic systems, Morioka launches an engaging experience around the world of printed paper.
He choose a book each week and places it at the center of a decorated stand in pure Japanese minimalist style room: wooden floor and concrete, white walls and some object of art in harmony with the book. The room is in one of the most luxurious neighborhoods of Tokyo, Ginza, one of the few buildings that survived the bombing, at Chuo-ku, Tokyo 1-28-15, Suzuki Building.
The book looks like a work of art and so it is treated as events are created for the week. First, customers can ask questions on the text and author and why the book has become the choice of the week. It is a little similar to what happened years ago with small bookstores where the bookseller had personally selected all the books and people entered the bookstore for advice, to exchange ideas and meet like-minded people. That model, which came into crisis once online sales and the large distribution chains came about, is in this way recovered, bringing it to a higher dimension: that of art.
The book becomes a work of art not only for the words within it but also as an object of worship. Morioka defines this idea as an "atomic regeneration of a bookseller: one with a single book", a natural regeneration is also a great way to relate with customers exchanging ideas, emotions, and suggested reading.
The idea is brilliant. When everyone is accustomed to having all information available on the web, when you lose contact with the press and the attention span of digital generations becomes a matter of seconds, this bookstore gives real emotions.
A "slow bookstore", to enjoy quietly the pleasure of knowing a book and its author, to exchange much thought on reading in a warm environment and being surrounded by true art.
For replication in every city and town in the world!
Follow us