Tag Archives: japanese

Pocket Size Notebooks and Planners from Nanami Paper

Nanami Paper‘s fountain pen friendly Tomoe River paper notebooks seem to be very popular. But I kind of wrote them off because they only seemed to sell larger A5-ish sizes rather than the pocket size I prefer. However, I recently took another look and was glad to see there are a few options that might … Continue reading Pocket Size Notebooks and Planners from Nanami Paper

Notebook Page from a Japanese Internment Camp

I spotted this in the New York Times Magazine of November 17, 2019. It is one of the saddest, most infuriating, most shameful notebook pages I’ve featured, as it was drawn by a young man who was incarcerated in a Japanese internment camp during World War II, and then ended up serving in the military … Continue reading Notebook Page from a Japanese Internment Camp

2020 Nolty Diaries In Stock at Kinokuniya NYC

I couldn’t believe it– just after posting about my 2020 Nolty Diaries and how I’d had to order them from Japan, I went to Kinokuniya Bookstore in New York and there was a huge display! I think they have a bigger selection than when I first spotted the 2018 Nolty diaries for sale two years … Continue reading 2020 Nolty Diaries In Stock at Kinokuniya NYC

Nolty Gold 2020 vs 2019

I thought I’d share a couple pictures of this year’s Nolty Gold vs. the new one that just arrived for 2020. It’s always fun to look at the current year’s beaten up, well-loved diary next to a brand new shiny one! My 2020 Nolty Gold feels even more luscious than the previous one– the 2019 … Continue reading Nolty Gold 2020 vs 2019

Life Noble Note Review

Life (or L!fe) notebooks are another Japanese notebook favorite with a classic design. I don’t know much about them but apparently the company has been around since the 1940s. I had seen them a lot but never actually bought one until a few months ago when I found this adorable little wire-bound notebook: Most of … Continue reading Life Noble Note Review

Haiku Notebooks

I love this collection of notebooks, which have been used to record hundreds or even thousands of haiku. (The original post at Notebookers.jp is in Japanese, so I am relying on Google translate.) I don’t know much about Japanese writing and only know the most basic structure of haiku, but short poems with this kind … Continue reading Haiku Notebooks

Monokaki Notebook Review

Several months ago, I treated myself to a couple of slim little Japanese notebooks from JetPens. The Monokaki notebook was one of them. It is made by the Masuya company, a manufacturer of writing papers since 1882. The Monokaki notebook is the perfect size for any pocket at 3 5/16″ x 5 1/2″ x 1/4″. … Continue reading Monokaki Notebook Review

Nolty Page Per Day Efficiency Notebook for 2020

Hot news today! I just happened to see a post on Instagram where JMAM, the makers of Nolty diaries, announced some additional 70th anniversary products. Most exciting to me is that they are introducing a Nolty page-per-day Efficiency Notebook! It looks like they are calling it the “Daily Book.” It looks a lot like the … Continue reading Nolty Page Per Day Efficiency Notebook for 2020

Post-War Japanese Notebooks Recording Hirohito’s Regrets

Japanese public broadcaster NHK has obtained documents showing that former Emperor Hirohito repeatedly felt sorry about World War II and tried, unsuccessfully, to express his feelings by using the word “remorse” in a 1952 speech. The records of conversations with Hirohito spanning several years were kept by Michiji Tajima, a top Imperial Household Agency official … Continue reading Post-War Japanese Notebooks Recording Hirohito’s Regrets