A day in November

"Kioku ni nokoru book and magazine" (BNN, 2,200 yen)

I received various feedback since publishing the book "The Edit of Tokyo" featuring interviews with eleven outstanding Japanese editors in December 2007. One of the least expected reactions came in the form of a book by former "Studio Voice" editor Fukasawa Keita, titled "Kioku ni nokoru book and magazine (Unforgettable books and magazines)". It focuses on younger editors than those introduced in "The Edit of Tokyo", and explores in interviews with nine key persons various ideas of the "editing" trade based on a rather broad interpretation of the term, ranging from books and magazines to a variety of other projects. The nine keypersons are Yanai Michihiko ("Kaze to Rock"), Haba　Yoshitaka (BACH), Tanaka Ako ("Numero Tokyo"), Lucas Badtke-Berkow ("Paper Sky"), Suzuki Yoshio ("Brutus"), Akada Yuichi ("DankaiPunch"), photographer/editor Yonehara Yasumasa, Ito Seiko, and myself. The whole thing is finished off nicely with Artless director Kawakami Shun’s excellent design.

When I first heard about the project, I was kind of hesitant because I thought that both this one and "The Edit of Tokyo" might be looked at in a generational context (and I don't want to be involved in any sort of generational discussion), but I finally agreed because I think believe there are too few publications about editing, and I thought that I should share some of my vast experience working in the trade.

Anyway, it was amazing to see how each of the individuals featured in this book approaches his or her job with a totally different attitude. I began to ask myself whether there are really as many target groups as there are publications, but this variety actually seems to be what makes the realm of editing so rich and affluent. I would even go as far as to say that to edit means to edit the definition of "editing". After the publication of "The Edit of Tokyo" , some claimed that "the variety of people in the book only made it even more difficult to see what editing is all about", and thinking the reaction is likely to be similar on this book makes me grin.

November 30

Talk show with Shinoyama Kishin at Ikebukuro Community College

I do a talk show with Shinoyama Kishin at Ikebukuro Community College, titled "The Edit of Tokyo, the Photograph of Tokyo". While showing some examples of previous work we did together, including "Tokyo Addict", "Roppongi Hills + Shinoyama Kishin", and special editions of "Composite" magazine, we exchange facts about the hows and whys of the various projects, reveal some behind-the-scenes episodes, and talk about what makes this mysterious creature called Tokyo such a fascinating place to photograph and work in as an editor. All of Shinoyama’s photos in the above-mentioned books were taken with an 8x10 camera, and Shinoyama complains at this occasion, "It’s terrible to work with Sugatsuke because he wants everything taken with an 8x10 camera, even where the situation requires a smaller format. At the K-1 I was refused to set up my tripod at the ringside, so I ended up running around with the 8x10 in my hand. I must have looked bloody stupid." Well, people in the audience have their fun, and so do we.

The talk session is actually some kind of pre-event announcing the start of my editing class at the Community College next May. "Sugatsuke Masanobu’s Editing Course" will have 22 lessons, and the talk show is something to promote it. Myself teaching others the secret art of editing sounds a bit of a joke, but with a total of about ten guests including famous editors and creative directors, I'm planning to take it seriously and face the guests' and students' challenging question, "So what exactly does editing mean?" with an open mind. Thinking of it makes me kind of nervous, and I really hope the god of editing will forgive me…

December 3

Ivan Orkin "Ivan’s Ramen" (Little More, 1,600 yen)

It often happens that a book project emerges from a chance encounter. The book I want to introduce here is one of them. In the fall of 2007, I went to see the Uekusa Jin'ichi exhibition at the Setagaya Literary Museum, and at the venue I bumped into music critic Watanabe Toru. "How about some noodles, there’s a ramen shop run by a New Yorker just around the corner," he suggested after seeing the show. A ramen shop run by a New Yorker? Not really believing what he was talking about, I eventually entered a ramen shop with just a small counter. "Ivan Ramen" is quite different from your average ramen shop, in terms of both atmosphere and taste. The owner is a blade of a Caucasian guy. The noodles he serves are firm, and the soup is clear but tasty. "How about some homemade ice cream for dessert? It’s good!" We tried his recommendation, and wow, that ice cream couldn't be silkier in a top class restaurant. "What a strange ramen shop!" I kept saying to myself on my way home, so it must have had a considerable impact on me. It was clear that I would visit the place again, and the second time I had noodles at Ivan’s I sat next to an elderly but elegant white couple. When asking where they were from, they replied, "From New York. It’s our first time in Japan, we just arrived today. We're here because this is our son’s shop." So I had met the owner’s parents, who, as I learned later, had ramen for the first time in their lives. When noticing their unpracticed and less than secure hands while slurping their noodles, I was overwhelmed by that funny sort of beauty that instantly told me that this was a shop with a story. I gave Ivan my card and told him that I was going to make a book about him and his shop.

A little more than a year later, the book is ready: "Ivan’s Ramen". Ivan, a native New Yorker of Jewish descent, got hooked on ramen when watching Itami Juzo’s movie "Tampopo" at home in the States. He came to Japan once, but returned home in disappointment. Back in New York he learned how to cook, and got hired as a chef at a three-star restaurant, but that didn't do it for him, so he decided to give it another try and came to Tokyo to open his ramen shop. That’s about the story of his life that, along with his original receipts and gourmet tips, fills the pages of this book. It’s a strange one, perhaps just as strange as the shop itself.

It’s bound in a truly beautiful cover designed by Plugin Graphic’s Hirabayashi Naomi. Should you happen to spot it in a bookstore, just pick it up and marvel at that exquisite texture of the paper, and the texture of the special type of ink the logo was printed with.

In addition to being the protagonist of this book, Ivan is recently appearing a lot on TV and in magazines. I'm not sure how people will respond to this book, but I hope it will make lots of people who stumble across it at a bookstore fall in love, just like I fell in love with Ivan Ramen the first time I stumbled across the shop.