Internal prototype — every project, amount, and backer shown here is placeholder data, not a real campaign.

うそからUSOKARA
Takahiro Kuroki × USONO ・ Publishing

Send writer Takahiro Kuroki around Japan to report on masks — and make a zine

We fund the travel and the lodging. We do not touch a word of the manuscript.

Japan still has masks that people actually wear. The namahage of Akita, kagura masks across the country, lion heads, demons. Not masks behind museum glass — masks that get sweated into, get sake spilled on them, and get pulled out again the following year.

There is one writer we want to send after them: Takahiro Kuroki. He has appeared at Kamenya Omote events before, and he is good at judging how close to stand to his subject.

A namahage in Oga, Akita. Not a museum piece — a mask that still walks into people's houses. (Photo: 掬茶 / CC BY-SA 4.0)
A namahage in Oga, Akita. Not a museum piece — a mask that still walks into people's houses. (Photo: 掬茶 / CC BY-SA 4.0)

What this campaign funds is travel and lodging, not the writing fee. You cannot write about a mask without going to it. The destinations get decided as the reporting goes; only Akita is fixed so far.

One more thing we want to be clear about: we will not touch the contents. When a mask shop publishes a book about masks, it turns into an advertisement. To avoid that, we put the project forward and hand over editorial control. If something inconvenient for our shop ends up in it, it stays in.

A5 format, around 100 pages. The print run depends on how many of you turn up.

[This page is a prototype. All amounts, specs, and dates are placeholders.]

Risks and challenges

The biggest risk is that the reporting doesn't go to plan. Mask rites happen once a year. If the dates don't line up, that region waits until the following year. Even with the goal met, publication could slip by a year.

Permission is somebody else's to give, too. These rites are often tied to belief, and if we are told no, we withdraw. Places that decline don't appear in the book.

To be honest about one more thing: we are starting on the understanding that we will not force a deadline on the writer. When the person paying for the travel starts chasing copy, what arrives is not reporting but an essay about a trip. If it runs late we'll explain why in an update.

We have no projection under which this book earns its money back. That's precisely why we're raising it up front.

Frequently asked questions

4
Will there be promotion for USONO inside the book

No. Beyond "Produced by USONO" in the colophon, no product placement and no shop promotion — that's the agreement we start from.

Where will the reporting happen

Only Akita is fixed. The rest gets decided as we go, and we'll post each one as it's settled.

When would it arrive

About a year after the goal is reached. It depends on the rites' calendar, so hold the date loosely.

Is there a digital edition

The paper zine is the object, but backers also receive a PDF.

Updates

1
No.1

First destination settled

We are aiming at the Oga rites in Akita. Given the calendar, the first trip will be in winter.

Reservations

6 recent
  • 汐見 ¥6,000
  • 内海 「なまはげの回を待ってます」 ¥2,500
  • 匿名 ¥15,000
  • 柏木 ¥2,500
  • 真行寺 「メモが読みたい」 ¥6,000
  • 匿名 ¥2,500