Souvenirs of Edo (Ehon Edo Miyage), vol. 1

This ten-volume set was begun in 1850, with the final volume published in 1864. The first eight volumes were designed by Hiroshige and published between 1850 and 1857; volumes 9 and 10 were designed by Hiroshige II and published in 1864. Souvenirs, or local specialties, were well established by the mid-nineteenth century. The preface of volume one (a) says that Hiroshige took his inspiration from the original multivolume set Souvenirs from Edo first published during the Horeki era (1751–64). The illustration includes the Edo souvenir of two brocade prints: a beautiful woman and a kabuki actor. The popular theme of souvenirs from Edo was even appropriated by Utagawa-school artists as a subject for erotica.