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→Styles of Traditional Bookbinding
*''Retsujôsô'' (列帖装) or ''tetchôsô'' (綴葉装) binding, also known ironically as ''yamato toji'' (大和綴, lit. "Japanese binding") binding, is the closest of the traditional East Asian forms to standard Western modes of bookbinding. Like many other forms of Japanese bookbinding, it was invented in China. This form of binding involves nestling the folded leaves of paper into one another to form a series of packets or bundles, which are then sewn together to form a hard spine.
*''Retsujôsô'' (列帖装) or ''tetchôsô'' (綴葉装) binding, also known ironically as ''yamato toji'' (大和綴, lit. "Japanese binding") binding, is the closest of the traditional East Asian forms to standard Western modes of bookbinding. Like many other forms of Japanese bookbinding, it was invented in China. This form of binding involves nestling the folded leaves of paper into one another to form a series of packets or bundles, which are then sewn together to form a hard spine.
While each mode of binding certainly waxed and waned over the centuries, few if any ever died out, to be replaced by newer formats. Rather, different formats continued to be used for different purposes; even today, with "modern" Western-style binding dominating, ''yotsumetoji'' and other forms of traditionally-bound ''wahon'' continue to be produced. One reason older forms are maintained is because particular types of texts are strongly associated with that form, or simply because the older forms feel more traditional, giving the sense of greater historicity, prestige, or sacredness. In some cases, the time period and form in which a given type of text first entered Japan cemented the text's association with that particular format. Scrolls continued to be the dominant form for many Buddhist texts, especially [[sutras]], for hundreds of years, in part because they first entered Japan in this form. By contrast, many [[Confucian classics|Confucian]] texts, including [[Neo-Confucianism|Neo-Confucian]] texts first introduced to Japan during the [[Song dynasty]] in the form of bound books, continued to be associated with the book format, and to be reproduced in such a format.
==Elements of a Book==
==Elements of a Book==