STORE U R BA N C ARTO G RA P H Y « ISETATSU « TOKYO « PAPER
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ne of the things that always impresses visitors to Japan is the ubiquity of good design. One of the most notable of these was Vincent Van Gogh, a famous Japanophile. He used traditional motifs in many of his works, and if you look closely at the bottom-left corner of his 1887 work Portrait of Pere Tanguy, you will find a pattern belonging to a certain shop – a shop that still exists today in the Taito area of Tokyo. The establishment in question is Isetatsu, purveyor of chiyogami – or woodblockprinted paper – for more than 150 years. The first glimpse of this unprepossessing space belies its lineage. Until, that is, you inspect the products. Prints featuring Japanese scenes, rendered with cartoonish figures, stand alongside origami dolls, furoshiki cloths for wrapping lunchboxes, and reams of paper, of different thickness and quality – all printed with an array of patterns. It’s these patterns that make Isetatsu what it is. The shop holds some 1,000, created over the years within the household, and hand-printed from sakura woodblocks onto paper. Once, there were many establishments producing chiyogami in such a way; now only Isetatsu remains. Stepping into the crowded little shop, you will likely be greeted by one of four children of the late owner, the fourth Tatsugoro in a line stretching back to the business’ founder. The shop IMAGE/ TEXT: DAVID LABI
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