Yoshimaru Takahashi and Yoshiyuki Morioaka to Speak at the 32nd Morisawa Typography Forum "Comfortable Characters and Places - From Characters to Books, From Books to Bookstores" (July 31, Osaka)

Morisawa Inc. (President and CEO: Akihiko Morisawa, Headquarters: 2-6-25 Shiki-tsu Higashi, Naniwa-ku, Osaka, Tel: 06-6649-2151, hereinafter Morisawa) will hold the 32nd Morisawa Typography Forum "Comfortable Characters and Places - From Characters to Books, From Books to Bookstores" on July 31, 2026 (Fri).

The "Morisawa Typography Forum" is held with the aim of contributing to the inheritance and development of character culture by inviting leading designers and creators to explore the creativity, originality, and expressive possibilities born from the fusion of characters and design.

For this 32nd forum, we will invite Yoshimaru Takahashi, a graphic designer who explores humid visual communication expressions with typography as his main focus, and Yoshiyuki Morioaka, representative of "Morioaka Shoten Ginza Store," a bookstore with the concept of "a bookstore that sells one book at a time," who is also a writer.

Participation is free (advance registration required). We look forward to many participants.

Speakers

Yoshimaru Takahashi (Takahashi Yoshimaru) - Representative of KOKUYOMARU Inc.

Yoshiyuki Morioaka (Morioka Yoshiyuki) - Representative of Morioaka Shoten

Event Overview

Title: 32nd Morisawa Typography Forum "Comfortable Characters and Places - From Characters to Books, From Books to Bookstores"

Date and Time: July 31, 2026 (Fri) 2:00 PM - 4:30 PM (Doors open at 1:30 PM)

Venue: Morisawa Headquarters 4F Main Conference Room (2-6-25 Shiki-tsu Higashi, Naniwa-ku, Osaka)

Participation Fee: Free

Capacity: 150 people

Organizer: Morisawa Inc.

Sponsors: Japan Graphic Designers Association Inc.

Japan Typography Association NPO

*Registration will close once capacity is reached.

*On the day of the event, you can visit our showroom from 1:30 PM until shortly before the start.

Click here for the Peatix registration page

https://peatix.com/event/5002881/

Lecture Summary

Yoshimaru Takahashi's "comfortable" emotional typography, and Yoshiyuki Morioaka's "bookstore that makes you want to visit" designed as "a bookstore that sells one book at a time."

The "comfort" of characters is born not only from the typeface itself but also from its relationship with paper, white space, space, and time. The lectures will cover logo types and typefaces that are rich in expression and provide a "comfortable" sensory experience, book design, and the possibilities of "comfortable" spaces created through communication using books and spaces.

Speaker Profiles

"Comfortable Characters" "Comfortable Books" by Yoshimaru Takahashi, published by Pie International

Yoshimaru Takahashi

Graphic Designer

Born in Toyama Prefecture. He explores humid visual communication expressions with typography as his main focus, from VI to book design. He has participated in numerous lectures, judging panels, and exhibitions in Europe, America, and Asia. His major works include "Comfortable Characters" and "Comfortable Books" (Pie International), "Ambiguous Communication" (Museum of Arts and Crafts Hamburg), "Yoshimaru Takahashi Design World" (Guangxi Fine Arts Publishing House, China), "Medicine and a Smile: A Source of Vitality," "Retro Printed Matter: A Family's Paper Museum," "Box in the Sky" (Mitsumura Suiko Shoin), "Medicine Graffiti" (Kourinsha Publishing), and others. His major awards include the New York ADC Silver Award, Special Award, New York Festival Bronze Award, Hong Kong Design Award GDA Silver Award, and Japan Typography Yearbook Best Work Award. His works are held in the collections of museums worldwide, including the Zurich Design Museum, Museum of Arts and Crafts Hamburg, Museum of Design Offenbach, Paris Advertising Museum, Osaka Nakanoshima Museum of Art, and The Museum of Modern Art, Toyama.

Representative of KOKUYOMARU Inc. Dean and Professor of the Department of Design at Osaka University of Arts. Visiting Professor at Ningbo University, China. Director of the Japan Typography Association. Member of JAGDA, Tokyo TDC, New York TDC, and DAS.

Morioaka Shoten

Yoshiyuki Morioaka

Representative of Morioaka Shoten

Born in 1974. Representative of Morioaka Shoten. His books include "800 Days Around Ginza" (Bungeishunju) and "Forgiving Strawberry Shortcake" (Rai-cho Sha). In 2023, Morioaka Shoten was selected for "The World's Best Shops" published by Courier in London. In the same year, he exhibited books related to Japan owned by Saul Leiter at Shibuya Hikarie. In 2025, he will hold an exhibition at Seizan Gallery in New York visualizing Okakura Kakuzo's "The Book of Tea," which was owned by Georgia O'Keeffe. Since the same year, he has been a personality on the GINZA SIX Podcast "Ginza is 6 PM." Since April of this year, he has been a visiting professor at Tohoku University of Art and Design. He participated as a director in planning and proposal for the Sagae Department Store, completed in his hometown of Sagae City, Yamagata Prefecture. He is currently writing the manuscript for his own book to be published this autumn. He loves the fruit sandwich served in the lounge designed by Sozaburo Yoshida at the Royal Park Hotel Osaka.

What is the "Morisawa Typography Forum"?

Since 2010, we have been holding this event irregularly as an opportunity for more people to experience the creativity, originality, and creative activities born from "characters and design." Through this forum, Morisawa focuses on the charm and value of characters, aiming to explore new creativity unbound by genre and to inherit and develop character culture.

Past "Morisawa Typography Forum" events can be found here https://www.morisawa.co.jp/culture/forums/

● Inquiries regarding this matter Morisawa Inc. Morisawa Typography Forum Secretariat E-mail: bunkaforum@morisawa.co.jp