Abstract

"Tsundoku" is a term used to describe the state of books acquired and left piled up at home without being read.
"Tsundoku" begins the moment when the speed of buying books exceeds the speed of reading them. When people see a pile of "tsundoku" books piling up one by one in a corner of a room, they become anxious, feel guilty, and laugh at themselves.
But what exactly is "tsundoku"? The history of the word is surprisingly old, dating back to the Meiji era. The "traditional art" of Japanese book lovers that has been passed down for over 100 years has now become a common word around the world as "TSUNDOKU".
To get to the essence of "tsundoku", book reviewer Chiko Ishii interviewed 12 book readers to find out about their "tsundoku" circumstances. Some passionately say that "tsundoku" is what will save the publishing industry, while others assert that the true value of books lies in "tsundoku".
We hope that readers will take a look at the impressive piles of "Tsundoku" (unreadable books) captured in photographs and read the words that describe them, and feel relieved, laugh, sympathize, be impressed, or be astonished.
Iima Hiroaki (dictionary compiler)
Ikezawa Haruna (author, voice actress)
Ogawa Kimiyo (English literature scholar)
Ogawa Satoshi (author)
Kakuta Mitsuyo (author)
Shibasaki Tomoka (author)
Shimao Maho (manga artist, illustrator)
Suga Keijiro (translator, poet)
Tsujiyama Yoshio (Title store owner)
Marie Mentlein (German producer)
Yanagishita Kiichiro (special translator, film critic)
Yamamoto Takamitsu (writer, game creator)

Author’s Information

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