60 animals gathered from all over the country! Mr. Iwago’s first photo book of signboard cats “Mitsuaki Iwago Nippon Signboard Cat” will be released on September 13th
*Tatsumi Publishing Co., Ltd.*
Press release: September 12, 2024
**
60 animals gathered from all over the country! Mr. Iwago’s first photo book of signboard cats “Mitsuaki Iwago Nippon Signboard Cat” will be released on September 13th
*Special edition with NFT digital benefits will also be released at the same time! Luxurious double benefits include a digital mini photo book & a digital photo frame that you can touch with the signboard cat*
The cover features Sally and a tiger on Asaichi Street in Wajima City, Ishikawa Prefecture.
Mitsuaki Iwago, one of Japan’s leading animal photographers, will release his first photo book of signboard cats, “Mitsuaki Iwago Nippon Signboard Cats,” on September 13th.
A cafe, a shopping street, a farm, a boxing gym, and a world heritage site… 60 signature cats from all over the country gather together. Mr. Iwago took pictures of cats that are loved by customers and everyone at work, and are full of happiness. There is also a corner featuring nostalgic poster cats that fans encountered from the 1990s to 2008.
The special edition with NFT digital benefits released at the same time is a luxurious double benefit. A digital mini photo book “More Signboard Cats” that includes 12 signboard cats that have not appeared in the main story, and “Gotouch with Signboard Cats” where you can take a photo with the boxing gym’s signboard cat “Konpoko”
You can enjoy “Digital Photo Frame” on your smartphone or tablet. Last of the coffee shop “Little Tree” in Nagoya City, Aichi Prefecture * ■A large gathering of beloved signboard cats from all over Japan* Mr. Iwago interviewed about 40 different industries, including not only bars and coffee shops, but also sports facilities, shrines and temples, and hot spring inns. All of the cats that appear invite guests, heal those around them, and are loved by everyone. It is valued not only by customers but also by people at work and the local community.
The photo of Mr. Iwago looking at it conveys not only the charm of cats as animals, but also the closeness of cats with the people around them, and the atmosphere of the place where cats make people feel at ease. You can get a feel for how much cats are loved in Japan today and what role they play in society through the appearance of these poster cats.
Kotaro from Matsumoto Farm, a strawberry farm in Matsuyama City, Ehime Prefecture, is very popular on social media.
* ■* Experience Mr. Iwago’s long history as a signboard cat! There is also a nostalgic photo corner.
This photo book also includes a corner called “Playback Signboard Cat” that contains nostalgic photos. Here you will find 14 pages of photos taken by Mr. Iwago from the 1990s to 2008.
A Russian blue from a downtown candy shop looking out from inside a paper product box, a cat from a used car dealership basking in the sun on the bonnet of a car for sale, a pearl shop sign cat wearing a real pearl collar, and a soon-to-be-closed train station. “Cat
stationmasters” roam freely around railway stations in the mountains. The gap between the cat situation and the main story, which takes place in the 2020s, and the easy-going atmosphere at the time are full of surprises. This is a corner unique to Mr. Iwago, who has covered cats both in Japan and abroad for a long time.
In front of a shop that sells rice crackers in Kawagoe City, Saitama Prefecture. Photographed with a film camera over 20 years ago * ■* NFT digital benefits that can be enjoyed on smartphones and tablets The special edition with NFT digital benefits is a luxurious double benefit. The digital mini photo book “More Signboard Cats” includes photos of cats not included in the main story. You can enjoy a variety of shops and signboard cats, including a Chinese herbal pharmacy, restaurant, photo studio, flower shop, liquor store, and more, with photos from the mid-Heisei era to the latest photos of the Playback Signboard Cat. Another bonus “Signboard cat and goo touch”
“Digital Photo Frame” features “Konpoko”, the signboard cat of a boxing gym in Sakai City, Osaka Prefecture, who has the special skill of touching his husband. This is a playful item that allows you to say hello with your fist and take a photo with your smartphone or tablet. You can play it at home, while traveling, or anywhere, and share it with your family and friends to have a lively cat conversation. *In order to enjoy NFT digital benefits, you must register as a member (free) of the FanTop app operated by Media Do Co., Ltd.
It is necessary. Please check the FanTop site for the recommended environment for the app.
On the left is a digital photo frame. Frame size is adjustable (Courtesy of FanTop)
◎About NFT digital benefits
Media Do uses NFT (non-fungible tokens) based on blockchain technology to collectively refer to digital content with asset value that can be obtained as a benefit for publications etc. purchased by users. ” is called. To obtain an “NFT digital benefit,” users enter the 16-digit gift code on the card attached to the publication or scan the two-dimensional code on their device. As a result, NFTs will be issued directly on the website “FanTop” and you will be able to obtain digital content that you can prove you own.
◎About FanTop
“FanTop” is an NFT service that allows you to obtain digital content using NFTs that have asset value. By using the dedicated app, you can enjoy collecting and viewing the collected contents as if they were actual collectibles, such as displaying them in a 3D room or placing them in real-life scenery using the AR function.
FanTop website https://fantop.jp/
FanTop app download https://lp.fantop.jp/app/appinfo/
[Character cats that appear and their workplaces]
Jirori (Asakusa Entertainment Hall/Yose)/Kotarou (Matsumoto
Farm/Strawberry Farm)/Chibita (Sekizan Chusonji/Temple,
World Heritage Site)/Bhutan Chicken (Central Aquarium/Aquarium Fish Specialty Store)/Kureyon (Shogakujuku/Study School)/En (Tono Tradition Garden / Tourist Facility) / Dami and Jiji (Yokai Shop GeGeGe / Yokai Shop) / Gu (Tenguyu / Public Bath) / Mi (Hashimizu Shrine / Shrine) / Cats of Shinjuku Golden Gai (Red Light District) / Wajima / Morning Market Street Cats (Morning Market)/Moe (Wajima Nuritaro/Lacquer Art Studio)/Light
(Mt. Kunimi
Tamagawa Temple / Temple) / Love Nyan (Lover Misaki Stella House / Souvenir Shop) / Natsu (Hachioji Horse Riding Club / Horseback Riding Club) / Paisley (Tsukuba Country Club / Golf Course) / Compoco (Diamante Boxin)
Gujim Boxing Gym)/Kora Soratopia (Paragliding School)/Kotarou Kusatsu Onsen Nakamuraya Ryokan (Hot Spring Inn)/Mocha and Maro
Okura Seisakusho (metal processing company)/Nandas Shioya (shopping street)/Maru Asuke Milk (milk shop) / Kyu-chan, Tora, Me Ouchi-juku (former post town) / Signboard cat photographed from 1999 to 2008 (candy shop in Yanaka, JR Kabe Line Yasuno Station, etc.) etc…
[Mitsuaki Iwago Profile]
Born in Tokyo in 1950. He has traveled all over the world, from the Arctic Circle to the Antarctic Circle, and continues to photograph wildlife with a focus on the connection between nature and life. He actively photographs cats living in various parts of Japan and abroad, and has published many works related to cats. Since 2000, he has been serializing “Mitsuaki Iwago’s Cat” in the magazine “Neko Biyori”. In 2012, he began filming the program “Mitsuaki Iwago’s World Cat Walk” (NHK).
Major cat photo books include “If I Walk with Cats”, “Island Cats”, “Neko Shine”, “Iwago-san’s Favorite Cat”, “Coloring Book Iwago-san’s Cat”, “Neko Oyabun”, “Free Cat”, and “Stand… Bye Meow” “Mitsuaki Iwago”
Everyone’s Genki Neko”, “I Want to Meet That Cat”, “Neko Nippon Hare” (Tatsumi Publishing), “Neko 22” (Benesse Corporation), “The Name of the Cat…”
“Special Guest” (Asahi Shimbun Publishing), “A Day in the Life of a Cat” (Jingukan), “My First Mini Encyclopedia”
‘Neko’ (Poplar Publishing), ‘Mitsuaki Iwago’s Japanese Cat Search’, ‘Nekogao’, ‘Bond: The Peach Farmer’s Cat’, ‘Mitsuaki Iwago’s Local Cat’ (Crevis), etc.
[Product overview]
Book title: Mitsuaki Iwago Nippon Signboard Cat
Price: Regular version 2,200 yen (2,000 yen tax)
Format: B5 variant / 128 pages
ISBN: 978-4-7778-3169-2
Release date: September 13, 2024
Publisher: Tatsumi Publishing Co., Ltd.
*Special edition with NFT digital benefits
Regular price: 2,530 yen (2,300 yen tax)
ISBN: 978-4-7778-3170-8
*Click here to purchase↓*
◎Regular version
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3Z69sHk
Rakuten Books: https://books.rakuten.co.jp/rb/17952975/
7NS: https://7net.omni7.jp/detail/1107533567
e-hon: https://www.e-hon.ne.jp/bec/SA/Detail?refBook=978-4-7778-3169-2 ◎NFT version
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3Xlw3OT
Rakuten Books: https://books.rakuten.co.jp/rb/17958508/
7NS: https://7net.omni7.jp/detail/1107533568
e-hon: https://www.e-hon.ne.jp/bec/SA/Detail?refBook=978-4-7778-3170-8