“Seki mackerel’s here!”

A voice rang out.
Junki-sensei leaned forward.

Junki-sensei


“Got the tag?”

Sukeroku


“That’s what you check first?”

Junki-sensei


“Mackerel loses its freshness quickly.

That’s why we say it has fast feet.”

Sukeroku


“But fish don’t have feet, Sensei.”

Junki-sensei


“Exactly. That’s why the fishmonger does the running.”

Sukeroku


“So that’s why they call it a feast.”

Utagawa Hiroshige

Nihonbashi: Morning Scene

from the series Fifty-Three Stations of the Tōkaidō

c. 1833–34 (Tenpō 4–5),

ōban nishiki-e (large-format woodblock print)

Tokyo Metropolitan Library Digital Archive