In this monograph, Helen Merritt and Nanako Yamada examine kuchi-e, or woodblock print frontispieces, that decorated Japanese magazines between 1890 and 1912. In seven chapters they assess kuchi-e from various perspectives relating to historical novels, Meiji literature, and traditional folklore and customs, as well as social changes, including women’s issues. They also explore shifts in pictorial styles to provide a rich synthesis of image and literature. Merritt and Yamada assert that kuchi-e had an independent...