In an effort to promote Taiwan, the Taiwan Cultural Center (TCC) in Japan collaborated with Gaeabooks (蓋亞文化) and invited Taiwanese illustrator Miss Charlie (查理小姐) to design their yearly pamphlet. The illustrations on the pamphlet revolve around the theme of Taiwanese tiles architecture.
The promotional pamphlets were displayed at more than 70 bookstores and Taiwan-related institutions in Japan, and they were well-received. Many locals were impressed by Miss Charlie's delicate work and commented that they look forward to visiting Taiwan someday.
Taiwanese pepper buns and castella cake have become popular in Japan recently, setting off a wave of Taiwanese retro trends. In line with this trend, the TCC in Japan selected the traditional Taiwanese tiles as this year's theme. Besides drawing the traditional architecture featuring Taiwanese tiles, Miss Charlie also created several illustrations including elements of the puppet show, and Wind Lion Gods, among others. Moreover, this year’s pamphlet also has folded flaps which can be used as a book jacket. The delicate and practical design of the pamphlet received positive acclaim from the Japanese people; these works not only allow the Japanese people to learn more about Taiwanese culture, but it is also an artistic creation that promotes the soft power of Taiwan’s illustrations.
According to Miss Charlie, the illustration revolves around "Taiwanese tiles culture," "travel," and "friendship." In her work, it shows an illustration of two girls from Taiwan and Japan, who are good friends but have not seen each other for a long time due to the pandemic. When the Japanese girl visited Taiwan, they went on a trip and traveled to an old street filled with traditional architecture that is constructed with Taiwanese tiles, such as New Taipei City’s Xianse Temple (先嗇宮).
Miss Charlie said that her creations are inspired by Taiwan’s old houses and she is delighted to participate in this project. Before creating the illustrations, she researched the culture of the Taiwanese tiles and that is when she realized that the Taiwanese tiles are integrated with multiple cultural exchanges, symbolizing Taiwan’s inclusive culture.
Besides introducing activities organized by the TCC in Japan, the pamphlet also offers information on iconic cultural institutions in Taiwan such as the National Museum of Taiwan Literature, National Museum of Taiwan History, Taipei Music Center and Kaohsiung Music Center, to encourage Japanese people to visit the places when they travel to Taiwan in the future.