A book is like a friend. We understand the world and life, or even observe ourselves through texts, and have a deep realization of oneself that we are not alone. PMQ invites different people from design and culture sectors to recommend a book, so that you can enrich yourselves as book therapy.

林三維: Who is Mizumaru Anzai ? He is the well-renowned Japanese illustrator. Fans of Haruki Murakami should know they are long-term partners. They write and draw. Most of the book covers of Haruki Murakami are from Anzai Mizumaru, and he is also the inspiration for Murakami. The two old friends can talk about anything (about green beans, tofu, movies, picture books etc). At the time when Anzai’s daughter got married, Murakami sent out a wedding card and asked someone to read it out - "marriage, it’s great when it’s good." Murakami once commented on Anzai Mizumaru’s painting approach - “It's like a drawing by a primary school student.” As Picasso said: "It took me four years to paint like Raphael, but a lifetime to paint like a child", it is not easy to create an iconic style that can be recognized at a glance through simple and clean lines.

Anzai Mizumaru passed away in 2014 due to cerebral hemorrhage. Kōzaburō Arashiyama, Haruki Murakami, and Makoto Wada pieced together Anzai Mizumaru's painting career, compiling the book named "イラストレーター Anzai Mizumaru" with his manga, book and magazine cover design, poster design, novel. In addition to his works, the book also collected some of Mizumaru’s life photos like his work desk, sake, favorite curry rice, and treasured toys. There are just so many pictures even for those who don’t know Japanese.