Ichigaya Letterpress Factory (市谷の杜 本と活字館)

DNP's headquarters (back) and Ichigaya Letterpress Factory (front)

Ichigaya Letterpress Factory

Next to the headquarters of Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd. (DNP), one of Japan's major printing companies, in the Ichigaya area of Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, stands the Ichigaya Letterpress Factory (市谷の杜 本と活字館). This cultural facility introduces visitors to traditional bookmaking, from the production of metal type to the printing and binding of books.

The history of the Ichigaya factory dates back to 1886, when Shueisha, one of DNP's predecessor companies, established a factory in the area. At the time, most of the factory buildings were made of wood.

As the buildings aged and demand for printing grew, the factory needed to expand and modernize. In 1920, work began on a project to expand the facility and rebuild it using reinforced concrete, improving its resistance to fire and earthquakes.

The project was interrupted by the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake. Shueisha suffered heavy losses when its head office in Ginza was destroyed by fire. The Ichigaya factory, however, escaped the widespread fires that devastated much of the surrounding area. Although some of its buildings collapsed, its production capacity remained largely intact.

The reconstruction and expansion project was completed in 1926, resulting in eight factory buildings and an office building that became known as the Tokei-dai (時計台), or clock tower, among employees and local residents.

Originally a two-story building, the Tokei-dai housed executive offices, the sales department, and other head-office functions. A third floor was added in 1952, and the building continued to serve as office space until 2016.

As part of a redevelopment plan for the Ichigaya factory complex launched in 2010, DNP decided to restore the building to its original 1926 appearance and give it a new purpose. Following extensive restoration work, it reopened as the Ichigaya Letterpress Factory in November 2020.

One of the facility's main attractions is a recreation of a traditional printing workshop on the first floor. The displays illustrate the bookmaking process, from designing letterforms and creating the molds used to cast metal type to arranging the type, printing pages, and binding books.

Letterpress printing is a method in which raised characters and other printing elements transfer ink directly onto paper. Before digital typesetting became widespread, metal type was arranged by hand to create a printing forme. Each character had to be selected and placed in the correct order, making typesetting a highly skilled and time-consuming task.

Rows of type cases, known in Japanese printing terminology as uma, line the workshop. Through its displays, the facility demonstrates the various stages of traditional printing and helps visitors appreciate the craftsmanship behind books and magazines produced using these methods.

The second floor houses a studio where visitors can experience aspects of printing and bookmaking firsthand. The facilities include small tabletop letterpress machines known in Japanese as tekin. Depending on the exhibition and event schedule, visitors may have the opportunity to print bookmarks using these machines or take part in notebook-binding activities.

Near the stairs also on the second floor is also a small exhibition space for temporary exhibitions related to type, printing, and bookmaking. The exhibits are typically updated approximately every four months.

Currently, the "Mincho-tai" Exhibition (「明朝体」展) runs through May 31, 2026. Mincho-tai (明朝体) is one of the most familiar styles of Japanese typeface, widely used in books, newspapers, magazines, and other printed materials. Its distinctive appearance comes from variations in stroke thickness and characteristic finishing strokes. These features also make Mincho typefaces particularly suitable for long passages of text.

Admission: Free

Normal operating hours:
10:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Closed on Mondays and Tuesdays (open if holidays)