Myriad Birds:A Playful Poetry Contest (Momo chidori kyōka-awase), 2 vols. , 『百千鳥狂歌合』, Edo period (1615?1868), 1790, Japan, Two volumes; woodblock printed books; ink and color on paper, Each: 10 ? 7 1/2 ? 1/4 in. (25. 4 ? 19. 1 ? 0. 6 cm), Illustrated Books, Kitagawa Utamaro (Japanese, 1753? ?1806), Each of the double-page illustrations of this book depicts two avian species accompanied by a pair of playful love poems written in the "voice" of the respective bird. The poems are kyōka (literally, "mad verse"), or playful light verse written in five lines of 5-7-5-7-7 syllables respectively