In the Meiji and Taisho periods, many Japanese magazines and novels were published with colour woodblock-printed frontispieces depicting characters featured in the included stories. These frontispieces are known in Japanese as kuchi-e, a term which also refers to the genre of such works. While sometimes kuchi-e depict the most dramatic scenes in stories (especially for mystery or detective stories), most feature beautiful women illustrated in a delicate and romantic light. They were used to give potential buyers browsing for a new book a "sneak peek" of what to expect. Works by Kajita Hanko, Mizuno Toshikata and Ogata Gekko, some of the most notable artists of kuchi-e, are included in our set. Most of the prints are from the magazine Bungei Kurabu ("Literary Club"), a total of 284 issues of which were published between January 1895 and December 1912.

For a more detailed description of kuchi-e prints, please see Dave's video on the topic.