Souvenirs of Edo: Illustrated Prints Store (Edo Miyage no Uchi: Ezōshimise)
Painted by Ochiai Yoshiiku 1861 (Bunkyū 1) Tokyo Shiryō Collection 883-C9

This is the storefront of the Morimoto illustrated prints store operated by Morimoto Junzaburō (trading name Entaidō) in Asakusa Kuramae. Such stores printed and sold ukiyo-e prints, picturebooks and the like for entertainment purposes.


The noren doorway curtain above the entrance is resist-dyed with the characters "Morimoto" and below it are pictures of well-known Kabuki actors, while the walls are adorned with displays of posters of picturebooks currently on sale. The displays directly below the noren curtain are in the highest and foremost position, so the Kabuki actor prints here were designed to be the store's major drawcard.
There were numerous stores like this in popular areas such as Asakusa, Yokkaichi, and Shibashinmeimae, the gateway to the Tōkaidō road, and people returning to their hometowns from Edo would purchase prints as souvenirs.

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