It's good to take the first bath Yudonohajimeyoshi (title on object) A series for the Hanazono poetry association (series title) Hanazono bantsuzuki (title on object), A woman with a handkerchief in her mouth, puts on her belt (obi). Behind her is the towel with which she dried herself over a rack. With two poems, one is about the first bath of the new year. The prints from this series are in line with the belief that the first activities of the new year were extra special. The red cartouche on the prints refers to almanacs in which it was indicated which activities could or could not be undertaken on certain days by people born in a certain year. Totoya Hokkei (mentioned on object), Japan, c. 1822, paper, colour woodcut, h 204 mm ⊙ w 176 mm.