I have towers of unread books at home – like a whole skyline. […]…

“When I became independent, I got rid of over 20,000 books.”

“I don't read the ones that end up at the bottom of the stack, so every week I turn them over and change the order.”

“I say meet because books have faces. The cover, the title, the design, the bindings. There are moments when you feel a spark.”

Kojima says that going to a bookstore was a daily routine he did not abandon even during the frenetic start of his studio. There he takes books in his hands, buys the ones that call to him, and loses himself reading them; on business trips he is not at ease unless he has several books in his bag, and he considers choosing and reading books to be part of who he is.

“I get sent tons of books from publishers a week before they're released to the public. I'm able to read books that nobody has read before.”