Japanese books

The cover of a Noh utaibon published in Tokyo in 1925, and bound in the traditional yotsume-toji manner.

Traditional Japanese books are bound in a variety of ways.

Binding Styles in the Meiji Period

In 1868, according to some sources, 100% of books produced in Japan were still wasôbon - that is, books bound in traditional Japanese bookbinding styles. Books on science, engineering, and similar subjects began to be published as yôsôbon (books bound in Western modes) early in the Meiji period, and by 1880, the majority of books on these subjects were bound in a Western manner. However, religious books, and those of certain other types, continued to be published as Japanese-style books for quite some time; as late as 1905, 44% of religious books were still wasôbon. It was not until 1886 that yôsôbon began to dominate, and in 1895, roughly 1/5th of the books published in Japan were still being bound in traditional styles. In fact, certain publishing niches related to the traditional arts, such as practice books (utaibon) for the Noh theatre, are still published as wasôbon today.