magnif: Jimbocho's fashion mag treasure trove

Jimbocho's 'book town' is a dank labrinyth of musty old paperbacks, woodblock prints and clothbound philosophy tomes. But the relatively new store magnif may be a sign of a more spritely future for the district. The shop's yellow facade and modernist interior make a perfect frame for the goods on display: thousands of old Japanese fashion magazines. 

Owner Yasunori Nakadake opened magnif in August 2009. But compared to novels, philosophy and antique art, isn't a fashion magazine less valuable for collecting? 

Nakadake, however, sees exactly why these magazines stay important: "Clothing falls somewhere between a work of art and a means to an end. Besides that, people are familar with clothing because they wear it. That is to say, clothing is a pretty good reflection of culture, I think."

Nakadake considered opening magnif in one of the city's more fashionable districts like Harajuku or Shibuya, but, believing that fashion magazines are an important cultural artifact, eventually decided on Jimbocho. Nakadake also has a history with the neighborhood as he began working part-time at a used book store in Jimbocho as a college student and wound up staying on as staff for a decade. 

magnif's covetable selection includes gems like "Men's Club," a magazine that familiarized a generation of Japanese men with the traditional fashions of their Western counterparts in the 1950s and 1960s. There are also early editions of still popular magazines like "Anan" and the recently departed "Studio Voice." As fashion fans flock to collect these magazine treasures, magnif has succeeded in bringing a newer and often younger customer to the neighborhood.

Oddly enough, Nakadake isn't much of a fashion magazine collector himself. He has a few prizes tucked away that he couldn't imagine parting with, such as copies of wartime propaganda publications "Nippon" and "Front," but otherwise everything in the store is yours for the buying.

magnif: Kanda Jimbocho 1-17, Chiyoda-ku. tel. 03 5280 5911, 11am-7pm.