Today is a bright and sunny day that is very rare in the middle of winter.
The warm sunshine slanted down from the clear blue sky, bringing bursts of warmth to Edo Castle, the center of Japan.
Edo - the seat of the Tokugawa shogunate, the undisputed center of all Japan.
It is not only the most populous city in Japan, the political center, but also the commercial center of Japan.
At any time, a large number of merchants from south to north entered or left Edo, bringing various goods from all over the country and even foreign countries to Edo.
These merchants from all over the world undoubtedly injected great vitality into Edo.
The commercial development of Edo is not only reflected in the large number of merchants from all over the country who come here to do business, but also reflected in the large number of shops opened in Edo Castle.
Countless merchants settled in Edo, selling their own specialty products.
The sunlight slanting down from the sky casts the shadow of a row of shops on the left side of a certain avenue onto the spacious rammed earth road, and onto the heads and shoulders of pedestrians walking on this avenue.
As for the shop floors in the row of shops on the right, they are bathed in dazzling sunlight.
These densely packed shops have basically low eaves and may be large or small in area.
There are various signboards hanging on these shops.
"Kansai Miscellaneous Goods", "Keyya", "Nanban Goods", "Suharaya", "Okura Tea House"...all kinds of signboards are dazzling.
Edo was not only prosperous in commerce, but also had no shortage of various entertainment activities.
Ryogoku Hirokoji—one of the most famous fun streets in Edo.
There are not only a large number of folk art venues here, but also a large number of artists performing their own specialties on both sides of the street.
There are "strong men" who perform a show of lifting huge straw bales of rice or large rocks.
Some perform animal juggling with monkeys, dogs and other animals.
There are storytellers.
Even though it's winter now, even though the horrific "Tianmei Famine" has only passed less than three years ago, and even though the country's situation has still not been revitalized, there are still a large number of townspeople and samurai having fun every day.
.
The various crises and difficulties that the country is currently encountering seem to have nothing to do with Edo Castle. These things do not seem to have the slightest impact on Edo Castle.
Edo Castle is still so radiant, welcoming with charming smiles, drunk with gold and paper... Unparalleled comfort and luxury permeate every corner...
…
…
If you want to say who is the most popular storyteller in Ryogoku Hirokoji, then many people may say the same name - Tachikawa Tei Tanraku.
The stories that Tan Le is best at telling are well-known to every household.
But today, he didn't talk about what he was good at.
Instead, it tells the story of "Oni no Heizou" which has been very popular among the townspeople and samurai of Edo in recent years.
"By the way, it was late autumn and early winter two years ago, the cool wind was biting, and dusk was approaching."
Just by the tone of his speech, you can see his superb level of talking about music.
This ups and downs tone makes people feel very comfortable.
The audience in the audience looked directly at Tanraku on the stage and listened carefully to Tanraku's story of "Onipei's pursuit of Shinto Tokujiro".
"Lord Hasegawa Heizo led the police officers who set out to punish the thieves and reformed them. Along the country road, they hunted down the notorious Shinto Tokujiro."
"Who is Shinto Tokujiro?"
"As his name suggests, he is a master of swordsmanship who is good at Shinto style and has extremely superb swordsmanship!"
"It's a pity that this man's heart is not right and he didn't use his superb swordsmanship in the right way."
"If we talk about today's world, which thief's swordsmanship can be better than that of fellow thief Tokujiro Shinto."
"Perhaps only the 'Executioner Ittousai' who committed the crime of 'killing his lord' last autumn can defeat Shinto Tokujiro."
"Not only is Shinto Tokujiro a powerful swordsman, he is also quite cunning!"
"His favorite trick is to disguise himself as an official, swagger through the checkpoints, and then kill and set fire all the way from the northeast to the south to Kanto."
"After learning that this murderous devil had arrived in Kanto, the current commander of our Hōfu Thieves Kaizo, Mr. Hasegawa Heizo, immediately started organizing the encirclement and suppression of Shinto Tokujiro!"
"Who is Heizang Hasegawa?"
"Hasegawa Heizo-sama, his real name is Hasegawa Nobui."
"In just a few years since I took over the position of commander of the Huo Fu Thieves, I have arrested and brought to justice all the vicious thieves!"
“It’s like the reincarnation of ‘Ooka Echizen’! People call it ‘Ooka Echizen’!”
"He is feared by thieves all over the world and is called 'Ghost Ping'!"
"According to rumors - in order to pursue Shinto Tokujiro, Master Hasegawa Heizo mobilized nearly half of their official officials to pay for the thieves!"
"After spending nearly a month and a half, Lord Hasegawa Heizo finally successfully tracked down the location of Shinto Tokujiro and forced Shinto Tokujiro into a desperate situation!"
"Mato Tokujiro was chased all the way to a wooden bridge in the countryside."
"And the officials who were transformed into thieves have long blocked the front and rear ends of this wooden bridge, making it difficult for Tokujiro, the real sword, to fly!"
"Seeing that he had no way to escape, Shinto Tokujiro pulled out his sword and planned to have a final fight with the trapped beast! Even if he died, he would have to drag in a few thieves and reformed officials to support him!"
"And Lord Hasegawa Heizo saw his intention."
"So - he didn't send any of his men into battle."
"Only one person drew his sword and stepped onto the wooden bridge!"
Hearing a "pop" sound, Tan Le raised his hand and patted the table.
He has now reached the climax of the story.
All the audience in the audience pricked up their ears attentively.
"Hasegawa Heizo-sama stepped forward to confront Shinto Tokujiro all by himself!"
"The swordsmanship used by Master Hasegawa Heizo is a swordsmanship passed down from generation to generation in the Hasegawa family. It is a powerful swordsmanship that is both offensive and defensive!"
"Hasegawa Heizo-sama and Shinto Tokujiro stood facing each other on the wooden bridge holding swords!"
"I saw Tokujiro Makoto let out a sharp shout and took the lead in swinging his sword to kill Lord Hasegawa Heizo!"
"A swordsman with an average level of swordsmanship, faced with Tokujiro's slash, wouldn't even be able to react, and his head would fall to the ground!"
"But Hasegawa Heizou-sama neither dodges nor dodges!"
"I only saw two flashes of sword light!"
"The first sword light cut off the right hand of Shinto Tokujiro holding the sword!"
"The second sword light cut off the hamstring of Shinto Tokujiro's left foot!"
"With just two swords, Master Hasegawa Heizo defeated the real swordsman Tokujiro who had killed countless people, and arrested this murderer!"
"The real swordsman Tokujiro who did all kinds of evil was finally defeated by the real 'ghost'!"
"The only thing to blame is that he went somewhere wrong and ended up in Kanto!"