The scent of ink and ash-strewn paths Edo, 1603–1868 In the Edo period, reuse transcended the ethic of frugality, becoming a practice woven into every corner of life to sustain the city. Paper, ash, metal, and old cloth were collected by scrap dealers, passing through wholesalers and artisans before returning as raw materials. Pots and kettles were repaired by foundry workers, pottery was re-fired and mended, and umbrellas and buckets were patched and reused until they were worn out. The cycle of repairing, patching, and finally returning items to raw materials sustained the town's economy.

The scent of ink and ash-strewn paths Edo, 1603–1868 In the Edo period, reuse transcended the ethic of frugality, becoming a practice woven into every corner of life to sustain the city. Paper, ash, metal, and old cloth were collected by scrap dealers, passing through wholesalers and artisans before returning as raw materials. Pots and kettles were repaired by foundry workers, pottery was re-fired and mended, and umbrellas and buckets were patched and reused until they were worn out. The cycle of repairing, patching, and finally returning items to raw materials sustained the town's economy.

At the heart of this cycle lay the collection of human waste and ash. Human waste and hearth ash from the city were taken to the countryside as valuable goods, returning to the fields as fertilizer. The rice and vegetables grown there were then transported back to Edo, binding city and countryside through a material cycle. Impurities were not mere waste but treated as resources supporting the next production cycle.

The integration of collection and repair minimized waste and resource outflow. Under constraints of limited fuel and materials, distribution, craftsmanship, and daily habits became intertwined, forming a circular social structure. Edo's town continuously utilized resources by layering wisdom and systems to fully consume goods. This model still quietly offers insights as a distant prototype for the circular society modern times seeks to build.