Bolts of Silk, Shijo Street

Photo 4 of 10 · S1 · E2 · A Day in Gion · Chapter 1: Kyoto, 1962

Rich gold and peacock blue silk. I had to fit fifteen pattern pieces together first.

Drag a piece onto another square to swap them, or tap a piece and then tap where it should go. With a keyboard, use the arrow keys to move, and Enter to pick up and put down. Pieces that fit together join and move as one.

About this picture

Rolled bolts of woven silk fill dark cedar shelves in a quiet textile shop. Across the polished wooden counter, fabrics in deep navy, crimson, and ivory gleam with woven patterns of pine trees, plum blossoms, and flowing water. Natural daylight pours across the counter, highlighting the golden threads in each weave. In front of the draped cloth, an inlaid wooden ruler and a pair of dark forged steel fabric shears lie ready for a tailor.

The story so far

This photo is part of The Mender of Lantern Street, a story told one torn photograph at a time. A mysterious envelope brought ten torn photographs of Kyoto from 1962, ending with a message written in fresh ink. Grandma asked me to find her.

How to play

Drag a piece onto another square to swap them, or tap a piece and then tap where it should go. Hold Preview for a faded glimpse of the photo: enough to see where the sky and the street go, not the details. Pieces that belong together join up and move as one, and turn green once they are in the right place. You have 2:00 for these 16 pieces, and the clock keeps running if you leave the page. Each photo has three stars: one for restoring it, one for finishing with0:48 still on the clock without taking extra time, and one for doing it in 18 moves or fewer. Each episode starts with 2 hints and earns more along the way; unused hints carry over to later photos. Playing needs a free account, which keeps your stars and stamps on every device. Restoring photos earns stamps (more for more stars, and extra for whole episodes), which buy more time or more hints. Once the photo is restored, turn it over and look for the clue hidden in it. Photos open one after another and episodes in order; each new chapter opens once you have enough stars from the chapters before it.