Gifts from the Ebb Tide, The Shell Book, by Utamaro

An image of Shiohi no tsuto (Gifts from the Ebb Tide), known as the 'Shell Book'. Utamaro, Kitagawa (Japanese, c.1756-1806). Woodcut, colour printing, circa 1789. Production notes: Album of kyôka verse for the Akera poetry group printed in colours from woodblocks, with eight double-page illustrations. Preface by Akera Kankô and colophon by Chieda no Hanamoto, published by Tsutaya Jûzaburô. First edition, in original dark blue covers painted in gold and silver with plovers, waves and bands of mist; hand-written title-slip.

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Shiohi no tsuto (Gifts from the Ebb Tide), known as the 'Shell Book'. Utamaro, Kitagawa (Japanese, c.1756-1806). Woodcut, colour printing, circa 1789. Production notes: Album of kyôka verse for the Akera poetry group printed in colours from woodblocks, with eight double-page illustrations. Preface by Akera Kankô and colophon by Chieda no Hanamoto, published by Tsutaya Jûzaburô. First edition, in original dark blue covers painted in gold and silver with plovers, waves and bands of mist; hand-written title-slip.

Image data

Accession Number: P.39-2000
Photograph copyright © The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge
Photographer name: Andrew Morris
Image height: 649 pixels
Image width: 1024 pixels
Processed with: Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 5.6 (Macintosh)
Filesize: 210.92kB

Key words

18th Century 458392 Date Department Edo Period Fitz_PDP Japanese Kitagawa Utamaro Medium Nationalities Object Type Other Keywords Utamaro Workflow _WF_AdOK _WF_KWD _WF_OPACtd _WF_PCtd album bay beach clam digging clothes clothing coast coastal coastline collecting shells costume fashion fashionable female garments hair hairstyle janomegasa kimono ladies lady language literature obi pastimes poem poetry poets print promenade sash seascape seashore seaside shells shore shoreline texts tidal tide umbrellas verses women woodcut writing Artist/Maker

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            The Fitzwilliam Museum (2026)
            "Gifts from the Ebb Tide, The Shell Book, by Utamaro"
            Web page available at: https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/image/media-188670 Accessed: 2026-01-04 19:55:00

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            |title=Gifts from the Ebb Tide, The Shell Book, by Utamaro
            |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2026-01-04 19:55:00|publisher=The
            University of Cambridge}}

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        <figcaption class="figure-caption text-info">Gifts from the Ebb Tide, The Shell Book, by Utamaro</figcaption>
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