Shiinamachi is a working-class neighborhood in northwest Tokyo that consists mainly of shopping arcades and two-story homes. It's where 78-year-old artist Yuyushi Furuta was born, where she grew up working in her father's sweets store, and where she still lives with her sister, Asae.
I have a personal connection to these two women, whom I've come to think of as godmothers. Growing up, they'd give my sister and me watermelon on hot summer days and cheer us on when we marched mikoshi (portable shrines) through the streets. Yuyushi also taught me shodō (Japanese calligraphy).
Visiting her apartment felt like entering another world, and a particularly fun one for a child. There were many things to touch and play with: stones and carved things, soft brushes and books to flip through. Later on I came to realize these weren't toys but tools — the accoutrements of a beautiful art form.