A young boy called Tooichi found an antique lamp in his grandfather"s storage, mistaking it for a toy and carrying it outside to play. When his grandpa noticed, he scolded the child and then told him the tale of how a modest Japanese village was transformed by Western influence.
During his younger years, Tooichi"s grandfather, Minosuke, earned a living by running errands and chores for neighbors. One trip to a nearby town exposed him to Western lamps—an unfamiliar technology—that illuminated the streets and sparked his curiosity. From that instant, lamps became Minosuke"s obsession and vocation, forever altering the lives of him and the villagers for generations to come in ways that reshaped routines.