Surimono (literally 'printed things') constitute one of the most delicate genres in Japanese printmaking. This genre fascinates because it combines poetry and image and because it presents a pictorial puzzle, which provides the viewer with a particular insight into the intellectual and literary world of late 18th- and early 19th-century Edo (today's Tokyo). Major artists such as Katsushika Hokusai, Utagawa Kunisada, Totoya Hokkei and Yashima Gakutei, to name but a few, provided imagery to accompany the poetic exploits of poetry club members. The prints were circulated among networks of...