E-hon

Cover & back of 2 bound-together volumes from the gōkan e-hon series - Nise Murasaki inaka Genj/A Country Genji, by an Imitation Murasaki. Published in 38(?) chapters, it was a parody-reworking of Genji Monogatari/The Tale of Genji. The series ran, in original release, from 1829 to 1842. Author: Ryūtei Tanehiko, Illustrator: Utagawa Kunisada

E-hon or Ehon (絵本) is the Japanese term for picture books. It may be applied in the general sense, or may refer specifically to a type of illustrated volume published from at least the mid-Edo period onwards, often as chapter-books in series. In English, it is this second usage which is the more common, i.e.: Japanese picture-books of a specific format (and produced in the traditional manner).

E-hon were traditionally produced as woodblock prints on thin washi paper (printed on one side only, then folded in half, creating a "leaf" with printing on both sides), bound together (right-to-left page order) with a simple external threaded binding; typically black (sumi) ink on white paper, often with polychromatic cover designs & sometimes with (usually more limited) internal colouring. Extremely popular during the late Edo-Meiji era. The modern Japanese manga format was created as a combination of ehon chapter-books with western-style comic books.

E-hon production was a significant part of the Japanese publishing industry (particularly) during the 19th century; most Japanese woodblock print artists of the period produced e-hon designs (often in large quantities), as commercial work. col_id=443

Akaei-no-uo from the Ehon Hyaku Monogatari - circa 1841

An image from the e-hon series Kuroneko Yamato (Black Cat of Yamato), illustrated by Katsushika Hokusai - circa 1808