This is a place frozen in time.

The wall is lined with paulownia wood boxes known as Kiribako. The boxes are being prepared from 1716 to 2137, for a future that we have yet to reach.

Nakagawa Masashichi Shoten has over 300 years of history, but they did not properly record its history.

As such, there was a decision to leave something that will be useful even 400 years into the future. This is how they came up with these boxes.

Each box, starting with the one marked 1716, contains events from the corresponding year.

Part of the contents are displayed on the walls. For example, the printing block that says “Nara Bakufu” was only used on the white ramie fabric.

Nara Sarashi was praised as the best for ramie fabric in Nara due to the beauty of its white fabric.

It also shows as proof of the high quality in modern times as well.

Now look downward at your feet.

The floor is made of small wooden pieces, 8-centimeters on each side. There are no spaces in between them and there are about 33,000 pieces.

The sentiment of history being nothing but an accumulation of small things over time is spread out across this floor.

Though the store continues to evolve, it can remember its roots here.

When someone in the future opens one of these boxes, what do you think they’ll see?