Abstract

One day, the author’s eight-year-old daughter asked an innocent question: “What is ‘beautiful’?” This book started as his attempt to explain that in the form of a letter. Thirteen dialogues between a Kyoto-based book designer and his elementary school daughter, exploring the world’s secrets. “Truth and goodness are often in conflict, but beauty makes no enemies.” – Shuntarō Tanikawa, poet

Reviews
“I came across a rare book. Here is a simple but mighty beauty, there is love, there is truth. When a person is touched by beauty in the true sense of the word, his or her words become poetry and philosophy at the same time. Not only that, they become a hymn of praise, a confession of the world’s sufficiency to be loved, a proclamation of eternity. This is a book that conveys the mystery of existence.” ―Eisuke Wakamatsu, critic
“I sit back and listen to the happy sound of life on this earth, and chew on it. This book, which shares those sounds with us, has made me feel completely tender.” ―Yo Hitoto, musician
“Fresh and powerful writing, as if freshly born from the center of life” ―FUDGE
“A serious and beautiful song of self-questioning, a dance dedicated to God, and at the same time, a record of a family’s beautiful love.” ―Kura Sasara, poet

Author’s Information

Yahagi Tamon
painter and book designer. Born in Yokohama in 1980. From the age of nine, he traveled to India and Nepal every year, and quit school in his first year of junior high school to start drawing with pen. Since 1995, he has traveled back and forth between South India and Japan every six months, and held exhibitions in Yokohama and Tokyo. In 2002, he became involved in book design after publishing "India Marugoto Tamon-ten" (Shunpusha), and has designed over 600 books to date. In 2012, he moved to Kyoto. He launched the publishing label Ambooks, and is a personality on the "Hontoko Radio" program, expanding his activities to make books and their surroundings more enjoyable. His books include "Working with Books" (Kawade Shobo Shinsha), "Book Engawa" (Shunpusha), and "Tamon's India" (Mishimasha), and he has co-authored "Tara Books: A Small Indian Publisher Makes Books Straight" (Genkosha) and "Giving Books" (Miwasha).

Tsuta
A member of "Aki-chan's School". Recently, she is into making newspapers and Rakugo. Her favorite storyteller is Ichinosuke Shunputei. She has been watching the movie "Otoko wa Tsurai yo" since she was three years old, and dreams of one day meeting Torajiro again. She is the daughter of Tamon Yahagi.