VOLUME 2
AOMORI
Nebuta Festival Floats, Hirosaki Castle Cherry Blossoms & Aomori Apples
A Nebuta float waits in its hangar before the August parade, ten metres of bamboo lath sheathed in washi paper and lit from inside by rows of bulbs. Close up, the warrior's painted face shows the brush at work: scarlet across the cheekbones, ink for the moustache, a final coat of melted wax sealing the colour into the paper. Each year a new one is built and burnt. Behind that single object stands the whole prefecture. Mt. Iwaki rising above the Tsugaru plain in its symmetrical cone. The orchards below it heavy with Fuji apples by October. The black stitched diamonds of kogin embroidery, the speckled lacquer of Tsugaru-nuri, the three strings of a jamisen waiting on a low stand. Hachinohe at dawn, the morning market selling scallops out of Mutsu Bay. The Hakkoda peaks under juhyo in February. Forty studies in all, page by page, from cape to caldera. At the close, a single fallen apple in the grass after the snow has gone, still red, still cold to the touch.
“A red apple in the grass after the snow.”
- 40 original Aomori Prefecture illustrations
- Single-sided pages to prevent bleed-through
- 8.5 x 8.5 inch square format
- A mix of detailed and breathable compositions
- Brief editorial introduction to Aomori
- Anyone with an interest in Japan, its culture, and its northern landscapes of mountain, orchard and snow
- Adults who use coloring for relaxation and quiet focus, and fans of detailed line art in the mindful coloring tradition
- A considered gift for friends and family with a love of Japan, festival craft, or the Tohoku countryside
The Aomori coloring book is Volume 2 of Sora Mikami's Prefectures of Japan series, a 47-volume collection that explores Japan one prefecture at a time. It gathers 40 original black-line illustrations of Aomori. It draws on Nebuta Festival Floats, Hirosaki Castle Cherry Blossoms, and Aomori Apples, alongside the everyday scenes Aomori considers its own.
You will find Nebuta Festival Floats, Hirosaki Castle Cherry Blossoms, and Aomori Apples, together with the landmarks, food, and quiet corners that give Aomori its character. The compositions move between detailed, intricate pages and calmer, more breathable ones, so there is something for every mood.
Yes. The book mixes detailed illustrations with more open, breathable designs, so beginners and experienced colorists alike can settle in. The large 8.5 x 8.5 inch square pages give you plenty of room to work, and every page is printed single-sided.
Colored pencils, markers, and gel pens all work beautifully. Because every illustration is printed single-sided on white paper, you can use heavier media without bleed-through onto another design. Slip a sheet of card behind the page if you want to be sure.
It is Volume 2 of a planned 47, one book for every Japanese prefecture. The volumes can be coloured in any order, and together they sketch the whole country one place at a time. Aomori sits in the Tohoku region of Japan.
