Sewn styles

Source: http://homepages.nildram.co.uk/~dawe5/bookbinding_pages/BB_sewn2.html

Yotsume toji
Pouch books are so called because their pages, folded at the fore edge and sewn at the back edge, form pouches, but their Japanese name translates simply as 'four hole'. Most Japanese pouch books are four hole (Chinese style) or five hole (Korean style) bindings, each nation traditionally holding even or odd numbers respectively to be especially propitious.

The two styles existed side by side in Japan during the Edo period, and were commonly used for cheap novels and romances. The first style to be examined is the basic four-hole pouch book; several variations of the stitching procedure will be examined in subsequent sections, but the basic construction of the book is the same for all the variants.


Four hole pouch book




Since its comprises quite a large group of books, and it is more complex than the previous books discussed, the structure of the yotsume toji will be described in some detail.

Structure
The sheets of paper to be bound are folded in half text side out, and knocked-up at the fore edge.



The nakatoji (inner binding) is then applied – this is a technique unique to Japanese binding which is used to hold the book together while subsequent operations take place, and will support the book if the binding proper should fail. Western papers, because of their rigidity and hardness, are not ideally suited to this purpose; wherever possible, softer Japanese papers, with their great strength, should be used.

The inner binding is effected by punching or drilling two pairs of holes at such a distance from the back edge that they will not interfere with the binding proper; a 'string' of twisted paper is then passed through each pair of holes, tied in a square knot then hammered firmly with a mallet. This non-adhesive binding is surprisingly secure, and will keep the pages safely aligned during the later stages of binding.




Inner binding of knotted paper 'string'



A variant of the inner binding is known as the monk's binding. In this method only two inner binding holes are punched; a much shorter paper 'string' is passed through each hole, unravelled each side and hammered flat with a mallet.

The monk's binding is much less conspicuous than the usual inner binding; however, it is a little less secure so sometimes a smear of glue is applied to the flattened 'string'.


Monk's binding, shown from both sides




When the pages are secured by the inner binding, the corner-pieces (kadogire) are applied. Each corner-piece consists of a scrap of paper or paper-backed cloth glued around the spine and across the top and bottom of the book in the area which will not open due to the sewing.

While it is attractive and lends authority to a book, the corner piece appears to be a mainly decorative device. Rather than contributing to the structure of the book it can render it more liable to damage by preventing the circulation of air between the pages and, if vegetable-based glues have been used, encourages attack by insects. It does, however, serve to prevent the back corners of the book becoming dog-eared.



Kadogire


The next stage is the attachment of the covers. These are of paper and are initially fixed lightly to the book by two sparing dabs of glue on the outer pages; the edges are then scored and folded down to the same size as the book. It is important that the back edge fold is sufficiently narrow so as not to interfere with the stitching, and that the folds are made in the correct order: back edge first, followed by the head and foot edges, and the fore edge last of all. Failure to follow this folding order may cause problems when the excess paper at the corners is trimmed away with scissors. The fore edge flaps are glued and attached to the outer pages at the front and back of the book.

Finally, the book can be punched and sewn. The sewing is a simple process, and the order of sewing can be clearly seen by reference to the diagram. The thread enters the book not directly through one of the sewing holes but from the back of the book, between the pages at the spine; it then exits through the sewing hole (usually the second from bottom) and passes round the back of the book, through the sewing hole again and on to the next hole. When the thread finally arrives back at the starting hole it is tied off to itself then passed back through the hole exiting, as it entered, between the pages at the spine. The threads are then trimmed and the ends glued between the pages through which they pass, thus concealing and securing them. Although the thread is firmly anchored to itself at the exit point, at the entry point it is only lightly glued to the book.

A more secure solution is the Westernised one I was shown when I first bound a pouch book: the sewing is treated basically in the same way as a pamphlet binding, the two ends of the thread being knotted together as they leave the book. If the trimmed ends are then passed back through the sewing hole and out between the pages at the spine, this method is virtually indistinguishable from the traditional, less secure method. Or, if desired, the threads may be left long and treated as a decorative element.

This modified fastening of the sewing thread was used with the following of the books shown: four-hole with Chinese-style cover; four-hole with pouch cover; four-hole with single-thickness pages; a variant of this method was used for the tortoiseshell binding, since the threads could not be arranged to start and end conveniently for the basic modified method described above.



The final step in a traditional binding is to glue the titlestrip (daisen) in place. The titlestrip is usually 30-33mm wide (depending on the size of the book) and at least two-thirds the height of the book. It is usually attached about 3mm from the head- and fore-edges, although for some styles (eg Yamato toji) the traditional position is 3mm from the head but centrally between the spine and fore-edge. Since the sample books accompanying this dissertation are blank, the only indication of front or back is the titlestrip. All the sample books have been bound to suit Western readers: the front of the book is such that in reading the pages would be turned from right to left, rather than in the Japanese manner. However, it is possible to simulate the Japanese 'reversed' style of layout, even including the vertical-running text, without compromising legibility.