It all began during a chat with the Shosaikan owner.

“Does anything bridge the gap between a letter and a card?”

“Sometimes you want to send something more casual than a letter.”

“And it would be fun to communicate with something other than 

writing—like drawings or photos.”

“It would be fun to try all different variations.”

“Isn’t there something between a letter and a card?”

That started my design wheels spinning, searching for a new 

shape as I fiddled with paper in my hand. After several months of 

intensive effort, I emerged with variations on the card-letter. 

I followed this up with a few trips to the post office, a test to make 

sure the cards would survive being mailed. One Sunday morning 

during this repetitive process, Mr. Shosaikan and I met in a café, 

with various models lined up on the table. We brainstormed ideas, 

as usual, for several hours. We agreed on paper type and size, 

but something was still missing, so the conversation continued. 

At some point, Mr. Shosaikan poked a hole through the paper 

and envelope. Breakthrough! Literally! A split-pin in the middle hole 

would eliminate the need for glue. A ribbon threaded through 

the hole created a simple gift, or a letter posing as a book. 

It was our moment of revelation, the birth of a multipurpose card. 

Mr. Shosaikan proposed a reasonable name—CA from card 

and LE from letter. That marked the debut of Ca Le, its uses 

limited only by the imagination, equally fun for sender and receiver. 

A collaborative dream comes true...