This is a reproduction of a design originally published in the 1840s, as part of the series: 詩哥冩真鏡 (Shika shashin-kyo - A Realistic Mirror of Poets)

It depicts a farm labourer gathering horsetail plants (tokusa). This is of particular interest to the Mokuhankan craftspeople here, because in the old days - before sandpaper was invented - traditional carvers used the rough 'skin' of these plants to create the effect known as 板ぼかし (ita bokashi - block gradation).