and bokashi, a technique by which gradations of colour are achieved by applying varying amounts of ink to the printing block. The book appeared in 1788. The prints are multicolour nishiki-e woodblock prints on handmade washi paper. Each horizontal print is in ōban size, about . The book bears no publisher's seal, but from the blue covers of the folding album are the same as others published by Tsutaya Jūzaburō at the time, and the clothing of many of the figures bears an ivy crest similar to Tsutaya's. Few copies remain, and researchers rarely have access to complete sets. Preface Loosening the sash of Yoshino River, forging a bond 'twixt Imo and Se mountains, spreading the skirts of Mount Tsukuba— thus do lovers plight their troth. Enveloping themselves in a screen of mist, spreading a quilt of flowers, reaching for a pillow ... We hereby print pillow pictures in brocades of the East as a plaything of spring at court. With one glance the eye is startled, the heart throbs, the spirit leaps [Ide], pausing below the sash, pressing, pressing, entwining the legs like the reeds of Naniwa, from the jewel-comb box of Hakone onwards, it is akin to using the hips. Ah! Rather than some amateur at drawing, the brush of one who is skilled in the art of love, without pressing too hard, this is the way to move the hearts of men. And so, what name shall I give this volume? Why yes, likening it to a poem by Bishop Henjō, borrowing the title of a letter by Lady Sei, and even coming close to the name of the artist, I call it Ehon utamakura, "Poem of the Pillow" — a companion to awakening in spring perhaps. First spring, 1788 Honjo no Shitsubuka Print No. 1 The first print depicts a pair of kappa river creatures raping an ama diver underwater. Her hair flows with the running current, and small, seemingly curious fish swim near. Another ama watches seated on a rock with an ashamed look, her right hand held to her mouth. Her drenched, dishevelled hair sticks to her. She wears a red waistcloth, but her genitals can still be seen. To the French art critic Edmond de Goncourt she "appear[s] languid and susceptible to temptation. Utamaro employs a varied contrast of tones in the area of the rocks, while fine lines of the running current