VOLUME 39
KOCHI
Kochi Castle, Katsurahama Beach & Shimanto River
A slab of katsuo no tataki sits on the cutting board: a brick of bonito charred almost black at its edges by a fire of dry rice straw, the centre still raw and bruise-pink, beaded with juice and the faint oil-smoke of the straw that seared it thirty seconds before. It is cut thick, salted, eaten with raw garlic and sliced ginger and a wedge of yuzu. Almost everything Kochi is can be read from this one plate. The bonito comes off the Pacific that the prefecture turns its long southern face toward, hauled in by single-line ippon-zuri crews working from small boats out of Kuroshio and Saga ports. The straw comes from the rice terraces stacked above those harbours. The yuzu comes down out of the mountain villages of the upper Monobe, where the fruit ripens hard and fragrant in the cold. Forty pages here. Cape Muroto's lifted terraces, the Niyodo's particular blue, chinkabashi laid flat across the Shimanto, naruko clappers waiting for August. Salt on the lip of the glass.
“Pacific wind, straw smoke, river light.”
- 40 original Kochi 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 Kochi
- Anyone with an interest in Japan, its culture, and its Pacific coast landscapes
- Adults who use coloring for relaxation and quiet focus
- A considered gift for friends and family with a love of Japan
The Kochi coloring book is Volume 39 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 Kochi. It draws on Kochi Castle, Katsurahama Beach, and Shimanto River, alongside the everyday scenes Kochi considers its own.
You will find Kochi Castle, Katsurahama Beach, and Shimanto River, together with the landmarks, food, and quiet corners that give Kochi 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 39 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. Kochi sits in the Shikoku region of Japan.
