Rainpocket Umbrella Guild — Umbrella Maker Tanuki Reference Sheet

The story of Rainpocket Umbrella Guild

A fictional story inspired by the artwork.

At Rainpocket an umbrella could be recognized from the far side of the market. Customers chose a pattern so their friends could find them in bad weather. The trouble began when a visitor requested a pattern nobody could possibly recognize. She wanted one walk through town without being stopped for conversation.

The six tanuki laid their samples on the floor. Checks belonged to the fishmonger. Waves belonged to both bakers. Every flower they tried reminded somebody of an aunt. By lunchtime the visitor had heard more family history than she cared to remember, and the rain had begun in earnest.

One maker turned a parasol inside out to tighten a bamboo rib. Beneath its bright panels the lining was plain blue. The visitor looked up from her tea. Could they put the bright pattern inside? The tanuki stitched orange flowers into the lining and covered the outside in a gray that matched the afternoon sky.

She walked all the way to the river without anyone calling her name. Beneath the canopy she could see a field of flowers turning slowly over her head. On her way back she stopped at the bakers’ stall of her own accord. When they asked about the parasol, she invited them underneath.

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