Dialogue with Craig Mod Discussion
In the heart of Japan, American writer, photographer, and publisher Craig Mod finds a unique blend of small towns, farming villages, spirituality, and mountain passes that have captured his fascination. This picturesque route, known as the Ise-ji, serves as the backdrop for Mod's extensive walks, which he documents in his books.
Mod, based in Tokyo, has published multiple works based on long walking journeys in Japan, including "Koya Bound: Eight Days on the Kumano Kodo" and his latest book, "Kissa by Kissa", a 1000 km walk along the Nakasendo highway in search of Japan's beloved yet dwindling old-fashioned coffee shops, or kissaten.
Mod defines a "long walk" as a relative term, ranging from a day to years, depending on the distance covered. He discovered that a person can endure long walks without growing tired, and that the body is more resilient than assumed. Even on familiar routes, Mod finds inspiration, as walks reveal new details and delights.
Mod's work is deeply influenced by traditional Japanese aesthetics and craftsmanship. He values the attention to detail and reverence for the physical qualities of books, such as paper quality, binding, and design, nurtured by Japanese book culture. This tradition fosters a respect for books as objects of art and reflection, which Mod integrates with digital design and distribution methods to create hybrid publishing experiences.
Walking and attention to place are also key influences in Mod's work. Having spent significant time walking in Japan, he connects book culture to extended contemplation, a common theme in Japanese literature and arts. This influences how he conceives storytelling and publishing as immersive, experiential processes rather than just content delivery.
Blending analogue and digital media is another hallmark of Mod's publishing philosophy. Drawing from traditional Japanese book culture that respects analogue forms, his projects explore how digital technologies can complement rather than replace print. This hybrid stance reflects Japanese traditions of bookmaking that emphasize form, interaction, and a sense of continuity between old and new.
While some kissaten may close as businesses do, the tradition is not disappearing entirely. Some individuals are carrying forward the kissa tradition, such as the Asano sisters of Ran in Nagoya and Inoue-san of Mianto Coffee in Gifu. Pizza toast, a classic kissa snack in Japan, played a significant role in Mod's latest long walk.
Mod has only walked extensively in Japan and Spain. For a long walk, he prepares by considering infrastructure, clothing, tech gear, and work tools, depending on whether he will be hiking and camping or not. He can work indefinitely with a 13" laptop, full-frame camera, Garmin watch for GPS tracking, and an iPhone.
Mod was inspired to start taking long walks in Japan after being invited by a friend in 2014. His immersion in Japanese culture and bookmaking informs his experimental blend of both publishing traditions, setting him apart in the contemporary publishing landscape. Thus, Mod's perspective is a synthesis where traditional Japanese book culture's reverence for crafting physical books enriches his innovative experiments in analogue, digital, and hybrid publishing, resulting in work that honours both heritage and technological progress.
- Craig Mod, influenced by traditional Japanese aesthetics and craftsmanship, values the attention to detail in book design and appreciates Japanese book culture's reverence for the physical qualities of books.
- Mod's latest book, "Kissa by Kissa", is a 1000 km walk along the Nakasendo highway in search of Japan's beloved old-fashioned coffee shops, or kissaten, and a traditional snack, pizza toast, played a significant role in this journey.
- Mod defines a "long walk" as a relative term, and finding inspiration, as walks reveal new details and delights, even on familiar routes, is key to his work.
- The traditional Japanese art of crafting books, with its respect for books as objects of art and reflection, nurtures Mod's innovative experiments in analogue, digital, and hybrid publishing.
- Mod has only walked extensively in Japan and Spain, but his immersion in Japanese culture and bookmaking informs his unique blend of traditional and contemporary publishing techniques, setting him apart in the modern publishing landscape.
