Brift H Product Communication" Shoe Shine Book

We live in a world that has become convenient in some way, where you can quickly obtain the information you want without having to spend time and effort. In such an age, why don't you learn things from books? In this month's second "Brift H Product News," we would like to introduce a book about shoeshine.

Since when did we start watching YouTube when trying to learn things? When you want to learn how to do something, videos are very easy to understand and quicker to learn than knowledge. When I (Hasegawa) need to learn how to do something, such as fishing tricks or cooking, I often start up YouTube on my smartphone, watch it quickly, rewind it, and rewatch it again.

But it is precisely because we live in such an age that we should try learning things from books.

Turn the cover, read the words, look at the pictures, and turn the page to the next page. It's analog, but it's also very interesting to use your imagination, read deeply into what the writer is trying to convey, and try to put it into practice. I have published three books on shoeshine, and I put a lot of thought into each of them.

Of course, I did not do it by myself alone, but with the help of many people including editors, writers, photographers, designers, and sales people who sell the books to bookstores, the books have been completed.

The Book of Shoeshine / Aki Shobo

The first book I published in 2016 is the starting point and the pinnacle of my career. It has been reprinted 12 times and sold more than 50,000 copies, making it a big hit in the "practical book" category. It is not too much to say that it is THE shoeshine book, which has also been translated and published in Taiwan and Korea.

The book is bound in a special method called "Codex binding," which allows the book to be opened 180 degrees so that it is easy to read while polishing shoes. The most praiseworthy thing about this book is this specification rather than its content (laugh).

The content of the book is for complete beginners as it was made for shoe polish beginners. It covers not only the usual mirror polish for smooth leather, but also the care methods for almost all materials such as suede, cordovan, and enamel, so you can clean your entire shoe closet with this book.

The book also includes a Q&A page that answers questions and answers about shoe polish that you may not know. The book is not written from a professional's point of view, but rather a collection of frequently asked questions and questions asked by the editors, so it is sure to be an interesting read.

This book is highly recommended for those who want to learn the basics of shoeshine.

The book was published in 2020.

Published in 2020, this book is a sequel to the first one, but I made it so detailed and maniacal that it is impossible to write more about shoeshine. For me, it is a book of five rings.

First of all, I wrote 70 pages about basic shoeshine. It is so detailed that it would be impossible to explain it in any more detail. Going back to the beginning, I created this book with an awareness of the fact that you can learn only from a book, in order to break through the tendency for practical books to be outdone by YouTube. One such example is the page that shows the proper amount of cream to apply by placing a full-size finger on the page.

In addition, there are pages for practicing strokes and wax application areas, etc., which are more understandable with a book than with a video! This is a book that takes full advantage of the strength of paper.

We also asked our test subjects to test the difference between wearing polished and unpolished shoes over a period of less than a year. This book is the result of the serious verification conducted by having the test subjects report back to us every day on a LINE group. How much does it really mean to polish shoes?

The book also includes interviews with shoe polishers from around the world, a detailed explanation of shoes with the cooperation of REGAL, and an explanation of the causes of leather problems by Dr. Takarayama of the Tokyo Metropolitan Technical Center for Leather Technology.

Unfortunately, it is so maniacal that it has not sold as many copies as the "shoe shine books," but it is a wonderful book that I hope all shoe shine lovers will read.

We are so passionate about this book that we have produced a limited edition of 200 copies with a leather binding. We made 100 copies each in two colors, black and burgundy, in the hope that the book will be around 100 years from now, and that the book itself, being made of leather, will become more beautiful as you read it.

The Shoe Shine Habit that Will Change Your Life / Poplar Publishing Co.

This is a book published in 2018, somewhere between a self-help book and a practical book. I talk about the charm of shoeshine based on my encounters with many customers and their shoes as a shoeshiner.

As I am still a young man, I thought I couldn't say anything great, so I packed it with the philosophy I have learned from many people who care about shoes.

The other side of the book is a practical guide to shoeshine, with step-by-step instructions. The book is in all colors and has almost the same contents as the "Shoe Shine Book," but I made the text and pictures from scratch for this book.

It would be a good gift for those who want to share the charm of shoeshine with others around them.

So, I would like to take the liberty of writing about the charms of each of my books. I hope you will take a look at each of my books, which I have made with the utmost care as if they were my own children.

Thank you very much for your kind attention.

Author Yuya Hasegawa