Exhibition
『ブック・アクティビスト』
Irma Boom: Book Activist
Since its launch in 2015, MUJI BOOKS has proposed a life enriched by books under the concept “Timeless Words, Inspiring Words.” For us, a book is not only its content, but also a physical presence—a “paper book” that exists in space. Unlike fragments of information that flicker and disappear instantly on digital screens, a paper book is tangible, multifaceted, and something that grows and ages alongside us.
To mark the 10th anniversary of MUJI BOOKS, we have been preparing "Book Activist" in collaboration with Dutch graphic designer Irma Boom. This publication offers a comprehensive view of her work—spanning over 500 books created across approximately 40 years—while exploring the nature of the “paper book” from multiple perspectives.
The result is a single volume: small enough to fit in the palm of your hand, yet as thick as a dictionary.
Over the years, she has collaborated with a wide array of partners around the world, including the Vatican Library( Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana ) and Tate Modern, creating books that take on a distinct form with each encounter. From vast expanses of information, she distills only what is essential, allowing it to emerge as a “paper book.” In this, her practice shares a deep-rooted affinity with the philosophy of MUJI: selecting materials with care, rethinking manufacturing processes, and shaping products that fulfill only what is truly needed.
This exhibition, the first of its kind in Asia, offers a rare opportunity to experience her unparalleled world of paper books and their surrounding practices. On view are precious works held in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art and the Centre Pompidou, alongside rarely seen handmade book prototypes, and “IBO paper,” developed in collaboration with a paper manufacturer. Visitors will also encounter a selection of “Timeless Words, Inspiring Words” excerpted from Book Activist.
"Book Activist" is a quiet tribute to all those who bring books into being—those who make them, carry them, and read them. As one of humanity’s oldest media, the book has long protected us from forgetting, while opening boundless horizons of imagination.
It is our hope that this modest exhibition becomes a invitation to rediscover the enduring possibilities of the “paper book”.
MUJI BOOKS
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Time
11:00 – 21:00
- Open times and holidays follow the open hours and closed days of the store.
- Please note that some of the exhibits may not be available for viewing due to changes in the exhibition schedule or events.
Credits
- Organiser
- Ryohin Keikaku Co., Ltd.
- Planning cooperation
- Irma Boom, FRAGILE BOOKS
- Graphic design
- Irma Boom, SHIMA ART&DESIGN STUDIO
- Site Construction
- HIGURE 17-15 cas
- Cooperation
- Allard Pierson, Reflex GmbH & Co.KG, Tadashi Morisaki, FRAGILE BOOKS
- Support
- Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
イルマ・ボーム Irma Boom
She is a bookmaker based in Amsterdam. She has created over five hundred books. Her experimental approach often challenges the conventions of traditional books in both physical design and printed content. Since 1992, Boom has been senior critic at Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, and she gives lectures and workshops worldwide. She has received many awards for her book designs and, in 2001, was the youngest person ever to receive the Gutenberg Prize. Boom’s books are in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, New York; Art Institute of Chicago; Vatican Library; and Centre Pompidou, Paris, among other institutions. The Special Collections of the University of Amsterdam collect her complete oeuvre. In 2014, Boom received the Johannes Vermeer Award, the Dutch state prize for the arts. In 2019, she received an honorary doctorate from the Royal College of Art, London.
Photo by Anton Corbijn
WEB｜https://www.irmaboom.nl/
Related Information
<Related Publication>
“Book Activist”
Author｜Irma boom
Price｜16,500 yen including tax (15,000 yen without tax)
ISBN｜9784-90908-481
Publisher│Ryohin Keikaku Co., Ltd.（MUJI BOOKS）
Pre-sale at MUJI GINZA from Jun 5, 2026. Sales will begin at MUJI BOOKS stores nationwide.
＜Special Exhibition＞
MUJI BOOKS
MUJI, which has been conveying the true nature of things with just a few words, has valued words as the “essence” of things from the time they were born. MUJIBOOKS, a collection of books that have been read and passed down from generation to generation, proposes a life with books along with “much better words”.
