Painting Umbrellas in a Paper Workshop

Rows of oiled-paper umbrellas in cherry blossom pink, wave-patterned blue, and floral red hang drying from the rafters of a wooden shop, alongside sheets of pale paper pinned in neat ranks. Two women kneel at low tables painting fresh blossoms onto open umbrellas and folding fans, brushes and small paint pots spread before them. Nearby, three men work on umbrellas of their own, one applying red petals to cream paper while birdcages holding small finches hang from a beam above. Bundled umbrella ribs and rolled paper stand in baskets along the walls, and a calico cat naps on a folded cloth beneath a bench. Every umbrella overhead began as the same bundle of bamboo ribs, now told apart by whichever bloom was painted onto its paper.