butterfly kite

Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of the Friends of Arthur B. Duel
https://www.harvardartmuseums.org/collections/object/207663?position=106

Only 8 5/8 x 7 5/16 in., this surimono print by Totoya Hokkei (Japanese, 1780-1850) is a little treat of a print.  As it happens, that's what surimono prints were meant to be; they're specially commissioned images for a private group.  They might be a gift, or an announcement; they were not available to the general public.  This "Cat and Butterfly," from around 1825, is from Hokkei's series A Collection of Thirty-Six Birds and Animals (Sanjûroku tori zukushi).  Oftentimes surimono contained poetry, and were commissioned by the poets.  If that's the case here, and if that calligraphy above is a poem, I wish I could find a translation.  Whose kitten got to play with a butterfly kite?

I have not been able to find all 36 prints in one place to show you, but I'd like you to see a few more.  Have a look at:

a monkey with a toy dog

sparrows and a basket

a doe with her fawn