Blending illustration and poetry, surimono were limited edition prints that were privately commissioned by wealthy merchants and poetry societies for special occasions such as the New Year. They were printed on thick paper with a lavish use of technical embellishments including silver, gold, bronze powder, lacquer and embossing. Sometime in the 1880’s publishers took the earlier surimono designs and printed them in a number of small edition sets. They were primarily sold to early Western travelers to Japan and like the original surimono were exquisitely printed with elaborate embellishments.