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Beer-drinking cats and frogs in deepest Osaka : meet Kappado!
Charles had been following talented Japanese graphic artist Mitsuru Yuge on Instagram for a couple of years, when we managed to set up a meeting with him during our November 2024 Japan trip.
He came across the account while looking up letterpress studios and was at first surprised by Yuge-san's illustrations of beer-guzzling cats, frogs on skateboards and other weird and wonderful designs, far removed from those omnipresent "blushing young girl with glasses" stickers. Surprise quickly gave way to delight when the pure sense of fun and humour Yuge'-san's work is infused with hit him. Since then, he has been completely addicted to Kappado!
The Kappado studio is located in central Osaka, tucked away in a rather lovely old Showa era style office building which doesn't seem to have changed since the 1950s.
Charles and Yuge-san in the Kappado studio 
During his early career as a graphic designer, a chance encounter with a letterpress printing machine was what prompted him to start printing his own work. After focusing on creating designs and advertisements for other people's products and companies, it was a real pleasure to see people enjoying his personal work.
His artwork usually depicts his beloved cats and frogs in a bewildering array of activities and typically Japanese situations.
Yuge-san hand prints each letterpress card by hand using a small printing machine called a Tekin (hand-printed hand-foot), deliberately using analog printing methods that go against current trends.
Kappado's vintage presses
A resin polymer plate is made of the original drawing, the ink is mixed, applied with a roller and each colour is pressed and printed one by one. The fading, bleeding, and indentations that are unique to manual letterpress printing create a unique texture and a finish that gives off a gentle and warm feeling. There's nothing like a genuine letterpress card!
His range also includes stickers and cards printed using more modern techniques.
We are very proud to be able to add the Kappado collection to our selection of letterpress products, you'll find a selection of postcards, letterpress cards, rubber stamps and stickers here.
