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An is a strip of paper looped around a book or other product. This extends the term ''
'' used for Japanese clothing; it is written with the same ''
What is an obi strip?
Home of Japanese Mini LP Paper sleeve Replica CDs on the net. Retrieved 2010-12-19. A secondhand record or CD with a still intact ''obi'' may be worth more than the same with the ''obi'' missing.
An is a strip of paper looped around a book or other product. This extends the term ''obi #REDIRECT Obi #REDIRECT Obi {{redirect category shell, {{R from other capitalisation{{R from ambiguous title ...
{{redirect category shell, {{R from other capitalisation{{R from ambiguous title ...kanji
are the logographic Chinese characters taken from the Chinese family of scripts, Chinese script and used in the writing of Japanese language, Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese ...
''. It is also referred to as a , or more narrowly as . Obi strips are most commonly found on products in Asian countries, specifically Japan.
For books
Many books in Japan are supplied with an ''obi'', which is normally added outside any dust jacket. However, a book in aslipcase
A slipcase is a five-sided box, usually made of high-quality cardboard, into which binders, books or book sets are ''slipped'' for protection, leaving the spine exposed. Special editions of books are often slipcased for a stylish appearance when ...
may have an ''obi'' around the slipcase.
In English, the term ''belly-band'' is sometimes used instead. In French, the term ''bandeau'' is more frequently used.
Other applications
The terms ''obi'' and ''tasuki'' are also used for a strip that is looped over one side (usually on the left) or folded over the top of LP albums released in Japan, and folded over the left side of musicCDs
The compact disc (CD) is a digital optical disc data storage format that was co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. In August 1982, the first compact disc was manufactured. It was then released in Octo ...
, video game
Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...
s, LaserDisc
The LaserDisc (LD) is a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium, initially licensed, sold and marketed as DiscoVision, MCA DiscoVision (also known simply as "DiscoVision") in the United States in 1978. Its diam ...
s, or DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...
s. In this particular context, those ''obi'' in cardboard are commonly called ''spine cards'' in English, particularly by collectors of Japanese artifacts.
With the exceptions of books where belly-bands are used to add marketing claims, ''obi'' were unique to Japan and are used to provide the title of the product, track listings (if applicable), price, catalog number and information on related releases in Japanese. Nowadays, Japanese publishers also release internationally some collector's edition of video games with their ''obi''. It is used by the consumer to determine what is included in the album or book, and the store can use the information for ordering. ''Obi'' are sometimes used on boxes for collectible toys and figures. Products with an ''obi'' have become popular with some collectors, as products with the ''obi'' intact can fetch premium prices, and are collectible items in their own right.Home of Japanese Mini LP Paper sleeve Replica CDs on the net. Retrieved 2010-12-19. A secondhand record or CD with a still intact ''obi'' may be worth more than the same with the ''obi'' missing.
References
{{Reflist Packaging Book collecting Book design Retailing in Japan Japanese books