
Onchi Kōshirō likely made only three prints of this work, which required 22 printing stages. The checkered background is composed of impressions taken from blocks of wood, and then he used charcoal dipped in bright orange paint to scatter dots over the surface. He often used small objects found in nature, such as seashells and leaves, to make his prints. In a 1964 essay, his daughter described her father’s childlike enthusiasm for the items he picked up: “He had the same kind of wonder for butterflies and the same love for shells as children have. For him nature was the eternal source of fun.”

Komurasaki of the Miuraya and Shirai Gompachi (Miuraya Komurasaki, Shirai Gompachi)
Kitagawa Utamaro 喜多川 歌麿 Japanese, c.1753-1806

Hamamatsu, from the series "Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido (Tokaido gojusan tsugi)," also known as the Tokaido with Poem (Kyoka iri Tokaido)
Utagawa Hiroshige 歌川 広重 Japanese, 1797-1858

Mitsuke: Ferries Crossing the Tenryu River (Mitsuke, Tenryugawa funawatashi), from the series "Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido (Tokaido gojusan tsugi)," also known as the Tokaido with Poem (Kyoka iri Tokaido)
Utagawa Hiroshige 歌川 広重 Japanese, 1797-1858