Hobonichi
Hobonichi A6 Cover, Tomitaro Makino: Koshino
Hobonichi 2024 is arriving soon! Sign-up for an in-stock notification below.
This is a simply designed techo cover printed with a botanical illustration of “Koshinso” by botanist Dr. Tomitaro Makino in 1901. Koshinso, painted in sumi ink and watercolor, is a perennial insectivorous plant that grows on wet rocks of the mountains in the north of the Kanto region. It was given its Japanese name after being discovered in Mt. Koshin in Tochigi Prefecture.
The botanical illustration drawn over 120 years ago on June 30, 1901, delicately depicts the light purple flowers arranged horizontally and the stems that grow out from the flowers and warp back. Unusually for Dr. Makino's botanical illustrations, the background is painted in black.
For the Hobonichi techo cover, a lovely blooming Koshinso flower is precisely printed on an ecru colored cotton fabric. Each of the two thin bookmarks is in a different color, one in light purple and the other in light green inspired by the Koshinso flower and stem. The tips are cut diagonally. Peek inside the outer back pocket and you will find a hidden message, “There isn’t any grass without a name. ―Tomitaro Makino.” This is an English translation of the words of Dr. Makino, showing how plant loving he was. There are no interior pockets for this cover, to make the techo even more compact. It has a pen hook designed to hold a pen by its clip. Written at the bottom of the cover interior is “Pinguicula ramosa,” the scientific name for Koshinso.