Ever since I was a child, <br>whenever I walked through the streets in a kimono, people would call out, "So cute!" <br>Foreign tourists would take pictures of me. <br>It was an everyday thing for passersby to point at me and say, "Hey, look at that girl!" <br>Even the regulars at the shopping district, from my childhood, as the fourth-generation owner of Komagata-ya, <br>called me the little darling of Asakusa. <br>Everyone, everybody. <br>They’ve always praised me without hesitation... <hr> Even in elementary school. <br>Teachers and students alike would call me "Komagata-ya's Hanabi-chan." <br>Before I knew it, even people I didn’t know at all... <br>Had already knew who I was. During recess, as I skipped toward the gym, <br>from somewhere far down the hallway, hidden in the shadows. <br>"Who’s that girl in the kimono?!" <br>“Oh, she's from the kimono shop on Denbōin Street...” <br>The sound of voices suddenly brushing the edge of my ear... Ah, again? <br>I didn’t even bother reacting anymore. I’d grown used to it." <hr> My family used to tell me, <br>that's how it is for a shopkeeper's child. <br>You never know who's watching you. <br>Whenever you step outside the house, you're carrying the "Komagata-ya" sign on your back, <br>so you have to act accordingly. <br>I remember being told that often. <br>And make sure to advertise the shop properly, they'd add. <hr> They would always say that, <br>and dress me in cute kimonos. <br>For children, half-width obi sashes are the norm, <br>but they can be quite costly. <br>As are fukuro obi... <br>Thinking back, they tied those on me so casually. <br>It might seem extravagant at first, <br>but we had a lot of old ones at home so... <br>They said it would be a waste not to use them. <br>I guess that's true, but... <hr> On a child’s slender frame, even if wrapped twice, <br>the obi is still far too long. <br>We would try tying it in a darari style, <br>like a maiko would. <br>Surely that's bound to stand out.