Edo on Paper

On a cold spring night in the second year of Meiwa (1765), when the fire bell rang across the Sumida River, Aoi Seijuro was born by the Honjo River. His father was a woodblock engraver and spent his whole life carving names for others, but his own name only ended up in the bad books. Seijuro understood very early on that the name could not be left if it was carved deeply, it also depends on who owns the piece of wood. Later, a fire destroyed Aoi's house and burned three roads to his feet. When he entered the painting market, he had to learn how to leave a picture without finishing the story for the person being painted. Entering the Crane House, he had to learn how to write an account without writing a living person to death. To go on a long journey, he needs to learn a map and how to ask for food, water, boats and local people first. He did not become a famous figure in his life. But when the old knife returned to the river, the lamp at the back door was still on, and there were still people in the Nagasaki dining room asking who was short of food. Someone later touched the handle of his knife, someone borrowed his paper lamp to see his feet clearly, and someone was finally able to say outside the account: I have arrived in person. This is Edo illuminated by a paper lantern, and it is also the three paths left by an unknown craftsman to future generations.