This post is a sequel to my previous entry.

After visiting the English garden, we had lunch at a soba restaurant. It was a hot day, so my husband and my mom ordered cold soba.

My dad and I had warm soba.

In my hometown, Otsu city, there is a traditional folk art called Otsu-e. The restaurant we had lunch has displays some of these paintings. This art form originated in the Edo period (1603 and 1868) and became very popular as a cheap souvenir for travelers going through Tōkaidō route. Its style was very simple and unique, and it is said manga is based on this Otsu-e. Both ukiyo-e and Otsu-e had significant meaning for ordinary people during the Edo period and are considered two of the most important folk art forms.

However, during the Meiji era I1868 to 1912), its popularity declined because people started traveling by railways. Less people walked through Tōkaidō, and Otsu-e had been eventually forgotten.

There are still few artists keep the tradition, but it's a dying art form, so we appreciate to see them every time visiting the soba restaurant.

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