AYU-NO-YADO (Ayu tea shop)

An ayu sweetfish tea shop — ayu being the prized river fish of Japanese summer, whose season and flavor have defined riverside dining culture for centuries — depicted in Nishijima's mode of affectionate architectural documentation. The shop's facade carries the accumulated character of a business devoted to seasonal pleasure: the signage advertising the ayu, the traditional architecture suited to a riverside location, the atmosphere of a place that exists in harmonious relationship with the natural seasonal rhythms it serves. Nishijima's rendering honors the aesthetic coherence of such places.