The Typeface of Two Worlds

Min-ji

Hiroto

Master Kenji

So-young

Min-ji's Workshop in Hanyang

Intimate guarded sanctuary

A small, sun-dappled room in Hanyang's artisan quarter where carved wooden type blocks line the walls like soldiers, each one polished to a warm glow. The work table dominates the center, its surface scarred by years of carving tools and stained with ink, while paper screens filter light into patterns that dance across the floorboards.

The Merchant Ship to Edo

Uncertain liminal space

A weathered Korean vessel crossing the East Sea, its wooden hull creaking with every swell. The cramped cargo hold smells of salt, dried fish, and paper. Min-ji and So-young share quarters with bales of silk and crates of ceramics, sleeping on thin mats while waves rock them between worlds.

Kenji's Studio in Edo

Collaborative creative space

A spacious workshop in Edo's pleasure district, its paper walls opening to a garden where cherry blossoms drift across stone paths. Multiple workstations host apprentices carving woodblocks, mixing pigments, and testing prints. The air hums with conversation and the scent of fresh ink.