In this print, titled Mare ni Au Koi, Utamaro depicts a young woman, possibly the daughter of a rich merchant family judging by her chic hairstyle and clothes, subtly gesturing to someone under the cover of her sleeve, probably a romantic interest whom she is unable to meet often. The elaborate designs on her collars are a highlight of the print. The print is from Utamaro's Kasen Koi no Bu ("Anthology of Poems: The Love Section") series originally produced in the 1790s.

Please refer back to the description of this set as a whole to find more information on other aspects of this print.

Quite a few years back, Dave made a reproduction of one of the prints in the same series as this one (mentioned above), and thought it might be interesting to produce a little quiz about the designs. That quiz is still online; if you would like to challenge your ability to 'see' what Utamaro saw, please give it a try!