This crude but charming work is an example of “toy prints” (asobi-e), inexpensive prints intended primarily for children that were made in large numbers in the mid to late 19th century. Some designs of this kind had a didactic function and were probably used to teach children the names of different kinds of fish, vegetables, household furnishings, and so on; but this assortment of traditional monsters is mainly just for fun. Many of the creatures are transformed animals, including a cat and two foxes, or objects such as an umbrella and a drum.

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