There's a wonderful copy of a recent TV show about Japanese book designer Shin Sobue available on You Tube. It's in Japanese so you may not catch all the nuances, but it offers a good peek into the "otaku" style workspace and ethic of Japanese creatives.

The main portion of the video revolves around Sobue trying to produce an "inside out" book. That is, where the endpapers are on the outside and the cover on the inside. The men in suits are from the bindery and, to say the least, not particularly enthusiastic about the idea. Mainly because they won't be able to guarantee the integrity of the finished product. Anyone who has tried to design something that pushes the production standards can understand the breathless trepidation of seeing his "vision" fulfilled that Sobue is so clearly feeling in that meeting.

I think my favorite scene is with Sobue at the book bindery where he pulls a piece off the production line and sends a shiver of worry into the workforce of the factory.

It's too bad we don't see the end product. And I partly wonder if the book ever got made. Or maybe it's yet to be published. I feel a book like that would be prominently displayed in the new releases section and I've yet to see it in my regular bookstore visits over the last couple of months.

Anyway, a fascinating little documentary into the Japanese bookmaking world.