An Owl and Sparrows

This is an example of urushi-e, the early ukiyo-e before invention of multicolored woodblock printing. After printing the outline of the picture on a woodblock, other colors were added by brush. Hence it has fewer colors than ukiyo-e in later years. An owl is holding kiseru (Japanese pipe) attached to a tobacco pouch. Such a tobacco pouch without kiseruzutsu (Japanese pipe case) is considered to have been used in the early days after Japanese people began to carry the tobacco.