The Next Japanese Book Sensation: Bring on Bunkobon
The real reason my wrists hurt (it’s not what you think)
Bunkobon.
Say it with me.
‘Bun’
‘Ko’
‘Bon’.
Forget matcha lattes. Forget ‘dirty’ matcha. Forget matcha tiramisu kakigori.
Forget anything made out of powdered green tea.
Bunkobon is the next Japanese sensation we need in the west.
Bunkobon.
I’m big on Japanese concepts. My most popular post last year was this one on Japanese concepts I just made up. Or rather, Japanese words I made look like actual books.
Like this one:
But the thing is, Japanese books in and of themselves should be the next ‘big’ Japanese thing.
Even though they’re small.
And not Manga, because let’s be honest, who has time for that?
I don’t. (Shock horror, a foreigner not into anime!)
Anyway, the Japanese have been holding on to this one for a loooong time. It’s about time the west caught on.
Truly caught on.
One of the casualties of the declining population of rural Japan has been the decimation of local bookstores. Amarume lost their only one. Two local malls lost theirs. To add insult to injury, the only place nearby that sold English books stopped selling English books.
The bastards.
If I want my fix of foreign fiction, and to actually hold the book in two hands before I purchase it (because one is not enough), now I have to travel to Sendai or something.
And let’s be honest, who has time for that?
I don’t.
However, every time I do see English books, I’m like,
do they need to be so big?
I mean, have you ever visited a Japanese bookstore? Have you ever gone to a cafe in Japan and seen a Japanese person reading a book?
They’re tiny.
And not just the people.
Why is the west so obsessed with big?
Big cars. Big food. Big drinks. Big people. And of course,
big books.
Seriously.
They’re massive.
And not just the books.
So, what exactly is a Bunkobon?
Typically, once a book has had a popular first run, they shrink it down to size, print it on (admittedly) poorer-quality paper, and in the meantime get it cheaper too. In other words, it’s a paperback book that, and here’s the kicker, fits in your pocket!
It’s simple really: any paperback that can fit within the confines of an a6 piece of paper by, say, a cm or so —that’s 12/31sts of an inch in ‘freedom’ units, thank me later America— fits the bill.
It also fits your pocket.
And for the books that don’t fit your pocket?
Easy.
Split them up.
Make them fit your back pocket.
Murakami Haruki books are an excellent example. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle in English is massive. As is Dance Dance Dance. As is 1q84… you get the point. As Bunkobon these massive books get split up into three, sometimes four individual books that, and here’s the kicker, fit in your pocket.
Revolutionary!
Imagine that. A massive book split into four volumes each about the same size as your smartphone!
Incidentally, if you’re anything like me, the moment you have downtime, what’s the first thing you check? We check our phones 100 times a day because it is so easy to do so. There is no friction.
Guess what else has no friction?
Bunkobon.
Isn’t it amazing that while iPhones and books got bigger, people read less?
Coincidence?
I think not.
Sure, our ever-smaller attention spans brought on by ever-shorter videos, convenience, and distractions definitely has a part to play.
But the books are not blameless!
I mean, have you ever held an English book and tried to drink a strawberry matcha latte at the same time? Or for us blokes, Kami forbid, have you ever held an English book and tried to do number one at the same time?
It gets messy.
With Bunkobon though, anything’s possible.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying ‘big’ is always bad. It’s about context. I mean, there are plenty of big books in Japan. It’s just, in Japan, if a book is huge, it’s usually for a ritual, not a train ride.
Take the Zen monks at Zenpoji temple in Tsuruoka for example. Everyday, multiple times a day, the monks do Tendoku of the Dai Hannya, the Great Prajna Paramita Sutra.
No. Not tsundoku. Not piling up books and proceeding to not read them. Leave the tsundoku to the specially-hired university professors (hint: that’s me).
No. I’m talking Tendoku.
Tendoku is (the actual Japanese Zen Art of) holding the book up in the air and letting the pages fan down to create wind, then absorbing that wind to gain the wisdom of the Buddha held within, (or something like that). Tendoku is one step further than Tsundoku. Tendoku proves that even Japanese monks don’t have time for big books.
The best mantras are the ones you carry with you. Even us yamabushi have a zip-file version of the Dai Hannya. You may have heard of it even. It’s called The Heart Sutra.
AKA The original Bunkobon (except you’re supposed to memorise it…)
So, why the big books in the west?
If our goal was to actually read, you’d think we’d go small, right? Well, in the west the goal isn’t always reading.
It’s signalling.
While the monks are fanning sutras, in the west we’re only fanning our egos. Big books on shelves have titles that are readable on a Zoom call, or in the background of a YouTube video. Because how else are we supposed to signal our intelligence?
Carrying a copy of Encyclopaedia Britannica in your arms?
One million bonus points to point Dexter over there!
Nonchalantly taking The Odyssey out of your bag?
You hit the ‘I’m intelligent’ jackpot!
Publishers like books to stand out in the bookshops. We like them to stand out on bookshelves. They’ve got to be big, bright, and showy, because how else are we supposed to signal our intelligence?
And since they’re all big bright and showy, they all look the same. Because when everyone tries to stand out, well, everyone stands out.
Or no one.
It’s like, if the book ain’t big, is the idea really that valuable?Yet it’s not as if we’re lugging the eternal wisdom of the Buddha around. More like a self-help book that could have been an email, am I right or what!?
Anyway, is there a solution to these giant sizes?
Oh wait.
I mean, is there a Japanese solution to these giant sizes?
Of course there is. It wouldn’t be a Kiwi Yamabushi article without one.
It’s called, say it with me now,
‘Bun’
‘Ko’
‘Bon’.
Now, the easy argument here is that people should just get an e-reader, but have you tried buying an e-book recently? They’re not cheap anymore.
The bastards.
Plus with e-readers, unless you get the expensive tiny ones, have the same problem as normal English books; They don’t fit in your pocket. Even if they do, they’re hard and uncomfortable to sit on.
Back to square one.
Now, you may be wondering, if we can’t show people on the moon the title of our books, how else are we supposed to signal our intelligence?
Don’t just signal your intelligence.
Earn it.
The most powerful mantras are the ones you carry.
In small, a6-size paperbacks that fit in your pocket.
Say it with me now,
‘Bun’
‘Ko’
‘Bon’.
Daily Yamabushi Posts for February 13 to 19, 2026
Daily Yamabushi posts for the week of February 13 to 19, 2026.
Read Daily Yamabushi at timbunting.com/blog. Most popular articles here.
I'm afraid the type in an English bunkobon would be so tiny we would all go blind.
I fear we don’t exist in the timeline where something like this would happen. 😔