After many years of customer requests for a plain notebook that feels just like the Hobonichi Techo, the Hobonichi Plain Notebook made an appearance from 2019. For Hobonichi Techo Spring 2023, we added cover designs in collaboration with the botanical illustration by Dr. Tomitaro Makino, a botanist known as the Father of Japanese Botany.

The drawing of cherry blossoms drawn with precise lines to the last detail is the first illustration of “Yamazakura,” meaning “mountain cherry,” which is the opening illustration of the first volume of his “Flora Japonica” book published in 1900. Dr. Tomitaro Makino’s drawing of the Yamazakura cherry tree as a symbolic Japanese plant is characterized by its dazzlingly detailed line drawings.

The botanical illustrations, born from a keen eye for observation, knowledge, and experience, make this techo an ideal companion for your daily life.

The illustrations that have become one of Dr. Makino’s masterpieces were drawn about 120 years ago during the Meiji Era, using loupes and microscopes for detailed observation and creating drawings that show the entire shape of the Yamazakura branches, shapes of the petals, and structures of various parts. Using a Makie painting brush with a bundle of mouse hairs, they are expressed clearly through shading that conveys the solidity of the flower's living petals.

The Tomoe River paper is the same thin, durable paper as that used in the Hobonichi Techo. This allows the 288-page book to stay at a mere 10mm thick, giving you plenty of room to fill to your heart’s content.

The 3.7 millimeter graph paper is also the same as that of the Japanese-edition Hobonichi Techo Original. The color of the ink on the page changes every 72 pages (red / blue / green / purple), making it easy to split the book into several themes or use the colors as a way to more easily find old entries.

The notebook size is the same as the A5 Cousin, which makes it compatible with any of the Cousin’s Hobonichi Techo covers. The cover is great for storing items like pens or sticky notes and provides a very convenient user experience.
(Also available in A6 size.)

You can also buy several notebooks and establish a single theme to keep across each book.

The notebook is also a great supplement to the Hobonichi Techo, or simply a smaller-size notebook to keep by your side for filling with lots of writings or drawings.