New Year Gift

This egoyomi print shows a plum blossom branch with noshi (gift-strip paper) for the New Year. It also includes a listing of daisho, or the long and short months. The first day of each zodiac sign for the months of 1863 is included in the poems. Kamata Gensen cheekily imitated the format and characters of official calendars issued by the government. Gensen wrote that he designed the print in response to a request, probably by the host of this particular poetry gathering.