Foolish Drawings by Kyôsai, Part I (Kyôsai donga hatsuhen)

Kyôsai donga ('foolish drawings by Kyosai') was a published album series in which Kyosai presented satirical, humorous, and grotesque imagery under the self-deprecating guise of amateurism — a pose conventional in literati culture that simultaneously allowed for greater license. 'Part I' (hatsuhen) indicates this is the first installment of a projected series. The content of such albums ranged from caricatures of recognizable social types to supernatural and comic scenes drawn with Kyosai's characteristically uninhibited line. As a woodblock print publication rather than a painting album, the work required that Kyosai's spontaneous brushwork be faithfully translated into carved lines — a demanding technical challenge that his favored carvers and printers met through close collaboration.