The first is a delightful fantasy of figures springing to life from the brush of Ukiyo Matabei, an earlier painter whose paintings were said to be so lifelike that they floated forth from the paper. However, although the face is concealed here by a floating piece of paper the artist portrayed is clearly Kuniyoshi himself as evidenced by the accompanying cat and the stylised paulownia emblem on the fan beside him.

Although the second design appears to be a harmless piece of whimsy it was produced in 1853 shortly after the alarming arrival of Commander Perry and it was thought by rather jumpy officials to represent the Shogun and his advisors rushing around in a panic: once again Kuniyoshi was summoned to appear before the authorities and although he managed to artgue his way out of the charge, the publisher was punished and the blocks were confiscated.