HOBONICHI TECHO 2022 Cousin Set A5 Japanese Cat Over Kanda

Taiyo Matsumoto drew this Kanda, Tokyo themed illustration for us, and we’ve printed it across the entire techo cover.

The idea for this cover came from our recently moving our office to Kanda, Tokyo. We fell in love with this part of the city and wanted to make a techo designed after Kanda. Taiyo was the first person we thought of to ask for help. We wanted to see Kanda from his unique perspective and reached out to him about working together.

The name of the piece is Cat Over Kanda. You can see the famous arch bridge in Ochanomizu, called Hijiribashi, and the scene is drawn from the perspective of looking out from on that bridge.

Taiyo says, “That intersection between the JR train line at Ochanomizu Station and the bright red Marunouchi line that crosses over the Kanda River is really cool. And lately, I’ve been into drawing flying cats. I drew it this way because I feel happy when I look at cats.”

It’s impressive to see the stark contrast between the flexible and energetic cat and the red cars of the Marunouchi line.

This cover was carefully printed to retain all of the little details of the original illustration by Taiyo: the delicate brushstrokes of the cat's fur, the texture of the paper that Taiyo himself painted onto, and all the tiny little details of the city.

The charms on the two bookmarks are two different calming colors. The colors were pulled from the original artwork to ensure they match nicely with the cover.

Consider this cover if you’d like to experience the beauty and richness of Taiyo’s artwork.

About Taiyo Matsumoto
Manga artist who debuted in 1987. Has produced a number of creative and popular manga series, including zero, Hana Otoko, Tekkonkinkreet, Ping Pong, GoGo Monster, No. 5, Sunny, Cats of the Louvre, and more. His work Takemitsu Kobo received the Grand Prize in the Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize’s manga division. Ongoing work includes Tokyo Higoro, featured in Big Comic Original Zoukan.