Hikobae

What is the point of passing on? At the level of the family, from parents to children - at the level of the city, the region - the nation? What ties bind us to a given place, a tradition? Can tradition sometimes be a tie that binds us, prevents us from flourishing? And how do we let new shoots sprout where there seem to be only old, dying stumps?
A collection of fifteen comic stories from ordinary, everyday life in Japan oscillating between sociological study, personal testimony and visual poem. Fifteen journeys that take you to lesser-known places from the northern island of Hokkaido to Shimane Prefecture in the southwest of the archipelago, from the mountain peaks of Gunma Prefecture to the seashore of Shikoku Island. Fifteen insights into some traditional Japanese crafts or customs (pottery, tea ceremony, sake making, etc.), based on the experience of living in Japan by the Czech-French poet Jean-Gaspard Páleníček and on speeches by authentic persons. Fifteen different artistic styles by artists from the Czech Republic, Slovakia, with Vietnamese roots or from Russia, under the direction of the acclaimed comic artist Václav Šlajch.
From the same creative team of the award-winning book Iogi (Japan International Manga Award, Muriel Award for Best Script).