e-bangire 絵半切

An *ukiyo-e 浮世絵 print commonly used as writing paper. A sheet of *suiharagami 杉原紙 was horizontally cut in half, and pictures or patterns were printed thereon in pale colors. For more expensive products, better-quality *hōsho 奉書 paper (pure-white, thick, mulberry paper) was used, and refined printing techniques such as karazuri 空摺 were employed. Because they were used for practical purposes, very few examples have survived.