Flattered by Flowers

He’s a rough-hewn romantic, and she becomes his muse. Junpei is a day laborer who’s supporting his mother and younger brother. He’s mostly resigned to rough hands and scant respectability, but for a few precious hours each evening, he loses himself in the colors and beauty of creation. His painted lanterns and parasols always sell, but supplies are costly, and unlike his illustrious father, he has no patron. While Junpei struggles to get by, strange things are afoot in Keishi—foreigners and their foreign ways. But he’s most interested in the lovely daughter of a local sweets merchant, whose kimono patterns inspire his paintings.