Description

Raikin zui (Pictures of imported birds, also seen as Pictures of birds imported from abroad) is a color-printed picture book that depicts birds that were shipped to Japan from overseas during the Edo period. The pictures were painted by the Ukiyo-e artist Kitao Masayoshi (Kuwagata Keisai, 1764‒1824). The book was published in 1790. During the Tenmei (1781‒89) and Kansei (1789‒1801) periods, many sumptuously detailed color-printed picture books were published in Japan. They used advanced and time-consuming printing techniques, such as kirazuri (application of metallic pigments and mica ...