Naoki Prize-winning author Shogo Imamura conceived the idea of “Honmaru,” a shared bookstore, in order to create a stir in the current situation where the number of bookstores continues to decline throughout Japan. The total branding includes naming, logo, merchandise, and store design.Based on Imamura’s involvement as a historical novelist and the image of “books” and “book-centered community,” we designed the name “Honmaru” and a logo with motifs of “book” and “circle. The bookstore is a collection of shelves rented by corporations and individuals who act as “shelf owners.”

Honmaru defines this collection of bookstores as a “small mall,” and creates a high-quality space appropriate for “Honmaru” by placing the shelves as the main feature and constructing it out of solid Japanese cypress wood. As a signboard for each shelf, a system was devised based on the motif of “script boards,” which are used as book dummies in libraries. By providing a format that can be freely designed, the bookstore is able to maintain a sense of unity as “Honmaru” while respecting the individuality of the shelf owners.The bookstore is attracting attention as a new type of bookstore, with applications from individuals and corporations as well as local governments from all over Japan. In addition, the bookstore is gradually creating a community centered on the bookstore, as shelf owners interact with each other through “Honmaru”.

The first store was opened in the book town of Jimbocho, but offers to open new stores have already been received from various locations, and the project is expected to develop into a project that will also play a role in supporting the local community.