A Woman Holding a Letter Box, from the series "A Set of Seven for the Katsushika Club"

This shikishiban surimono from the Set of Seven for the Katsushika Club portrays a woman holding a fumibako, a small lacquered letter box of the kind used to store private correspondence and poetic exchanges. Dated to around 1825 and held by the Art Institute of Chicago, the design uses metallic pigments to evoke the gleam of lacquer and the textile patterns of the woman's robes, with the karazuri blind-printing technique likely employed for the box's surface detail. The Katsushikaren series gathered seven companion images of women engaged in literary and domestic activities, each forming a small allegorical statement on the act of writing, reading, or contemplating verse. By choosing the letter box as the central object, Gakutei points directly to the circulation of poetry that made the surimono itself necessary, since these prints were carried, sent, and exchanged among kyoka poets as both gifts and commemorations. The Art Institute's impression preserves the delicate color registration and crisp keyblock that distinguish a fine early printing.