HOUSES WITH A STORY

In this work translated from Japanese, 30 homes from worlds real and imagined are revealed in watercolor-style illustrations.

From lighthouse to treehouse, tower to subway station, each home in this collection is charmingly rendered in digitally colored hand-drawn sketches that evoke “the warmth of a picture book.” Accompanied by cutaways detailing the home’s history, inhabitants, and plumbing, every page transports readers to the scene of a new story. Some homes, like “The Post Office of the Dragon Tamer,” with its dragon stable, convenient payment window, and rarely used bathtub, exist outside of familiar space and time. Others, like the unprofitable “Kaidan-Do Bookstore,” filled with shelves of used books and run by a lonely shopkeeper, could appear around the corner in your own neighborhood. The homes and the vignettes describing them are clever and tenderly expressed; many are Japanese or East Asian, but other cultures and locations are represented. Equally fascinating are the substantial sections detailing Yoshida’s process and craft. A background graphic artist for games and manga, Yoshida also includes sidebars sharing his research on roofs and toilets, documenting his own work studio, and revealing the time periods and countries that inspired each house. Readers with an interest in illustration, architecture, or worldbuilding will find much to pore over in this visually engaging art book.

Offers tantalizing glimpses into imagination-inspiring rooms full of untold stories.