SIROSIRO Garden is a conference that uses books as a point of departure to explore how “places” where people gather and something new emerges come into being. Simply by being placed in a space, books have the power to draw people in, spark conversation, and transform a space into a “place.” The event will welcome practitioners who create and develop “places” across Asia and explore how people, culture, and environment come together to shape them.

The venue, 965BKK, is housed in a historic, nearly 200-year-old Chinese merchant house in Talat Noi, Bangkok’s Old Town. The program will feature talk sessions on weekday evenings and workshops on Saturday, the final day. It will also include a market and exhibitions featuring independent bookstores and other participants from Tokyo and Bangkok. The four-day event will use books as a starting point for conversations that cross national and disciplinary boundaries.

    •        Event name: SIROSIRO Garden
    •        Date(s): November 11–14, 2026
    •        Venue: 965BKK (Talat Noi, Bangkok, Thailand)
    •        Location: 965 Soi Wanit 2, Talat Noi, Samphanthawong, Bangkok 10100
    •        Admission: Free
    •        Main programs (tentative):
               o        Talk (evenings, November 11–13): A dialogue on “Places and Ecosystems” between Editor-in-Chief Shotaro Yamashita
                          and domestic and international guests
               o        Workshops (November 14): Workshops led by forager and designer Katsunobu Yoshida and others, using “place” and
                         “foraging” as points of departure
               o        Market (throughout the event): A market bringing together independent bookstores and others from Tokyo and                           Bangkok
    •        Speakers: To be announced on official social media channels
    •        Organizer: YOKOKU Laboratory, KOKUYO CO., LTD.
    •        Planning and production: blkswn publishers Inc.
    •        With the cooperation of: 965BKK
Note) Program details, speakers, and how to participate will be announced on the official website and social media accounts .

・Official Website：https://sirosiro.asia/
・Instagram：https://www.instagram.com/sirosiro.asia/
・Xiaohongshu (Rednote)：https://www.xiaohongshu.com/user/profile/6abf924a000000000301d3f9

"SIROSIRO" is a feature-focused magazine that tracks the forefront of placemaking across Asia. Published twice a year in Japanese, Chinese, and English, the complimentary magazine will be distributed at select bookstores throughout Japan and various other Asian regions. The inaugural issue, launching on November 11, features the theme "Place with Books." Using "books" as a guiding thread, the editorial team travels to cities including Bangkok, Yunnan, Seoul, and Taipei to uncover the essence of placemaking driven by literature.

The magazine is designed in an unique A4-variant format, spanning 144 all-color pages. The editorial team brings together leading creative minds, led by Editor-in-Chief Shotaro Yamashita (Head of YOKOKU Research Institute), alongside Content Director Kei Wakabayashi (blkswn publishers) and Art Director Hiromi Fujita.

The latest updates and exclusive original content will be shared regularly on the project’s official Instagram and Xiaohongshu (Rednote) channels.

(1) About SIROSIRO

SIROSIRO is a media platform that focuses on the connections among people, culture, and environment—the ecosystems—behind spaces across Asia, exploring how “places” come into being. Having created the “vessels” of space, including furniture and offices, KOKUYO is stepping back for a moment from the perspective of those who create spaces to observe and document places that are already thriving. The name “SIRO” comes from “siro,” a term used by foragers in the Tohoku region to refer to a location where mushrooms grow. It encompasses the entire network of organisms and minerals in the mountains and forests that supports the growth of mushrooms. Its tagline is “Art & Ecology of Places.” SIROSIRO will be published in Japanese, English, and Chinese. Details of the inaugural issue will be announced at a later date.

（2） Comment from SIROSIRO Editor-in-Chief Shotaro Yamashita

We can create a space, but turning it into a “place” is not easy. That is something I have felt precisely because I have spent so many years working in spatial design. With SIROSIRO, we will step out of our usual role as creators of spaces, walk through cities across Asia, and carefully observe the connections among the people, cultures, and environments that give those places life. As our first step, we will hold a gathering in Bangkok to think about the concept of places through books. I look forward to speaking directly with everyone coming together from across Asia at 965BKK, a building layered with 200 years of history.