A Decorative Calendar
Accordion binding consists of a long strip of paper or a strip of leaves glued together, folded in zig-zag fashion. The bound book can be easily opened flat to view all the leaves at once, or a two-page spread can be opened at once with the rest of the leaves remaining closed (useful for consulting just a section of a calendar, for example). A calendar of this size could easily be slipped into a kimono sleeve, or the pocket created by the fold at the front of a kimono, for portability. Calendars were often bound in this format, another example from USC Libraries is Bunkyū san mizunotoi reki (1862).
Kaei hachi kinoto reki is more than a utilitarian object though, with the use of gold leaf and mica on the front cover, including the inside cover, making it aesthetically pleasing. It was probably owned by someone of reasonable wealth.
