What lies in the hole of a donut?

Sometimes, we encounter books that fill our hearts so much with every page we turn, every word we swallow, that we can't bring ourselves to continue reading.

For me, this book was exactly that.
As soon as the story began, I noticed a sense of loss, like a basso continuo.

The presence of an empty void at the edge of the page. I, too, know that kind of hole.

After saying goodbye to my beloved cat, with whom I had lived for many years, a cat-shaped hole was left in my body (I'm sure some of you have had similar experiences).
Perhaps holes, despite differing in shape, are fundamentally the same. When a familiar-smelling breeze blows through a void that had become so much a part of me I'd forgotten it existed, I remember that it was a hole. Despite the descriptions not being overtly tear-jerking, I found myself getting choked up, and couldn't read it in public places like coffee shops.

When my cat passed away, I remember struggling terribly with the "absence" that had opened up inside me. I tried to pretend the hole wasn't there, or, unable to bear the pain, tried to fill it with something. But there was no other piece that could perfectly fit that hole.
Eventually, when I resigned myself to "not filling the hole; living with it as it is," I realized that the hole wasn't entirely empty.

The hole that appears in this book is the round hole of a donut. The memories of the hole where the girl and the black cat were, are guided by Chopin's melody, and woven together with the monologues of unique characters (and animals), treading an irregular waltz between dream and reality.

It's a book to be read, yet sounds and images rise before your eyes as if it were a film. Or, perhaps, the alternating monologues of the characters are reminiscent of a small theater play.

Such devices can be felt not only in the writing but also in the design.
Following 'Ameinu' (Rain Dog) and 'Ginza,' the prequel to this work, the collaboration between Takafumi Sotoma's writing and Fumi Yanagimoto's prints has a certain pop atmosphere amidst its ephemeral beauty.

With the PLAYLIST as a soundtrack, you'll want to repeatedly play this small narrative device, like flipping a record or re-listening to a favorite movement.

At 'Hon Nagakawa' in Matsumoto, Fumi Yanagimoto's print exhibition 'MAZURKA440' TOUR 2026 VOL.8, which sprang from the book, is currently being held (until May 31).
I too must go and meet Koishi and Mazur.

Fumi Yanagimoto / Takafumi Sotoma - Mazurka 440

Artwork:    Fumi Yanagimoto (prints), Mimei Editing Room (book design)
Format:   book, soft cover
product no. :    –

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FUMI YANAGIMOTO EXHIBITION
Fumi Yanagimoto Print Exhibition 'MAZURKA440' TOUR 2026 VOL.8

Dates: May 1 (Fri) - 31 (Sun)
Venue: Hon Nagakawa (Matsumoto City, Nagano Prefecture)
https://www.instagram.com/p/DXofuYFEoAc/?img_index=1

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Text and Photos / Fumika Arasawa Designer Freelance ⇄ company employee, sometimes helping out friends. Moved to Matsumoto in 2024. Instagram: @fumika *Related products available at rovakk musikk here.

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WALLFLOWER CATALOGUE

Designer Fumika Arasawa introduces one captivating artwork at a time.
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