There is a uniquely Japanese way of seeing beauty in things as they quietly age, weather, and decay. Rather than resisting the passage of time, this book embraces it, finding elegance in the fragile process of change.

This artist's book by photographer Akio Tomari is devoted entirely to photographs of glass objects. Tomari coined the word Kuchikeru —a term that describes the ongoing process of gentle deterioration—and built the entire book around this singular vision.

Gathered especially for this publication are glass objects such as goldfish bowls, old Ramune soda bottles, early MUJI glassware, and tiny antique bottles once used for Jintan breath fresheners, among many others. Each transparent object is something that might easily have been discarded. Among them are pieces once kept by celebrated glass artist Kazumi Tsuji and ceramic artist Koichi Uchida, as well as objects generously shared by renowned antique dealers.

This Special Edition is housed inside a paper cylinder reminiscent of the packaging for a glass bottle. Inside is an entirely blank oversized volume into which thirty-five photographic prints have been loosely inserted. Nothing is printed directly onto the pages. Instead, the bound stack of blank paper functions like the protective cushioning used to wrap fragile objects, quietly safeguarding the photographs of glass within.

Reflecting the world of Kuchikeru , the book also includes quotations from Kenji Miyazawa, Sohaku Iwamoto, Torahiko Terada, Soetsu Yanagi, Rainer Maria Rilke, and Kaiko Takeshi, together with a newly written essay, Twilight of Things .

These exquisitely fragile objects—things that would almost certainly have been thrown away had no one recognized their quiet beauty—now rest gently inside their paper cylinder.