But he already showed his promising talent in painting by helping a flyer shop to make andon oil lamp stands for ceremonial occasions known as "jiguchi andon," which were decorated with pun-motif illustrations (illustrations inspired by puns, a form of word play in which one finds different meanings in word pairs that sound alike [jiguchi puns], were featured on andon lamp stands. Installing these andons at crossroads during festivals became widespread, and many of these illustrations were drawn by ukiyo-e artists).
しかし、びら屋で祭礼の際に用いられる地口行灯（もとの言葉を別のものに仕立てて楽しむ言語遊戯、つまりは語呂合わせである地口を、絵で行灯に描いてある。祭礼時に町の辻に飾ることが流行し、その絵の多くが浮世絵師によって描かれた）制作の手伝いをするなど、画才を示していた。