Ichigaya Letterpress Factory - Special Exhibition "Gaby Bazin - Le Typographe"

This exhibition features the picture book, Le Typographe (éditions MeMo), written and illustrated by Saint-Denis, France-based artist Gaby Bazin. Through the vivid colors and witty illustrations in this picture book, readers can learn about everything from the culture of handwriting before printing to Gutenberg’s invention of the printing press, and also about the entire process of making, setting, and printing with movable type - true craftsmanship!

While studying graphic design, Bazin became particularly enthralled with the process of printing and binding books by hand. She started creating this picture book to show people the workings and the allure of the craft of printing through simple words and illustrations. Since being published in France by MeMo in 2022, this book has been translated into many languages, including Japanese (Dezain no atorie kappan insatsu, Graphic-sha Publishing Co., Ltd., 2023), English, and German, sharing the appeal of letterpress printing with more and more people. It was followed by Bazin’s picture book about lithography and a new picture book about intaglio printing in May 2025.

The exhibition will display all sketches and preliminary drawings for Le Typographe. Although it is a colorful picture book, the preliminary drawings were done only in black and white. The exhibition will take you behind Bazin’s creative process to show how she makes a preliminary drawing for each color.

After learning something about French letterpress printing, please also take a look at our Japanese letterpress printing equipment. The technology used for letterpress printing has evolved little by little, depending on the region and the language. Surely the typographer who shows us round his studio in Le Typographe would have been astonished to see the type cases full of the enormous number of kana and kanji characters used in Japan. Have a look at them! Stand in front of the cases and start picking up the type!

Gaby Bazin

Gaby Bazin is a French illustrator born in 1992. Her picture book Le Typographe welcomes readers into a letterpress printshop, where the main character shows them how he prints books with movable type. An earlier work, La Lithographe, shows how stones are used to print images. Bazin’s latest book, published in France in 2025, explores the world of intaglio. Her work, full of vibrant colors and simple shapes, is fueled by her practice of silkscreen printing, stencil and other printing techniques.

Over the last years, she has been focusing on sharing her love of printing with children. She regularly meets with children of all ages for experimental printing workshops where a group gets to experience making collective books and images. She lives and works in Saint-Denis, near Paris, France.

Publications (original French versions)

- La Taille-Douciere - 2025, editions MeMo

- Eclore - 2023, editions des Grandes Personnes

- Le Typographe - 2022, editions MeMo

- La Lithographe - 2021, editions MeMo

- Ecrire c'est Dessiner - 2017, editions MeMo

Exhibition

Dates: Saturday, June 28 – Sunday, October 19, 2025,  Closed on Mondays and Tuesdays (Open on national holidays)

Venue: Exhibition room, 2F, Ichigaya Letterpress Factory, 1-1-1 Ichigaya-Kagacho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, +81 (0)3 6386 0555

Opening Hours: 10:00am – 6:00pm

Admission Free

Organized by Ichigaya Letterpress Factory (Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd.)

Cooperated by éditions MeMo and Graphic-sha Publishing Co., Ltd.

Supported by Ambassade de France au Japon / Institut français du Japon

Exhibition Design by Hitomi Nakazawa and Yoriaki Oshige, CBK

Graphic Design by Hosoyamada Design Office

Special workshop for kids

Draw the Letterpress Factory and turn it into a poster!

Ichigaya Letterpress Factory will host a special workshop by Gaby Bazin, with Japanese-language interpretation. The event is open to children of elementary school age and younger. The children will be encouraged to draw pictures while looking at the museum’s printing press alongside Bazin. Finally, drawings by all the participating children will be combined to print one Risograph poster.

Date: June 28, 2025, 2:00pm to 4:00pm

Venue: Ichigaya Letterpress Factory, 2nd floor studio, 1-1-1 Ichigaya Kagacho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo

*For more information about the special workshop, and to register, visit the Ichigaya Letterpress Factory website.

Talk Event & Mini Expo

Institut français de Tokyo will present a talk about Gaby Bazin's untranslated picture books, with Japanese-language interpretation. In addition, starting June 26, 2025, a mini exhibition will be held in the second-floor gallery to showcase these works, which have not been published in Japan before. (admission is free)

Talk Event 

Date: June 27, 2025, 6:30pm to 8:00pm

Venue: Institut français de Tokyo, 15 Ichigaya Funagawaramachi, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo

Speaker: Gaby Bazin

*For more information about the event, and to register, visit the Institut français de Tokyo website.

Stamp rally

A stamp rally featuring Gaby Bazin's illustrations will link the three locations: Ichigaya Letterpress Factory, Institut français de Tokyo, and DNP Plaza, 1-14-1 Ichigaya Tamachi, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo. By collecting stamps at all three locations, participants will create a wonderful postcard.

Date: June 28 – October 19, 2025

Free admission

*Please check the schedule for each location before visiting.

*Please note that the number of postcards available is limited.

For the latest information on other related events, please visit the website for each venue.