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Japanese artist Kitagawa Utamaro (1753-1806) was one of the most influential artists working in the genre of ukiyo-e, 'pictures of the floating world', in late eighteenth-century Japan, and was widely appreciated for his prints of beautiful women. In this book, Julie Nelson Davis reinterprets Utamaro in the context of his times, drawing on a wide range of period sources, and making a close study of selected print sets. Reconstructing the place of the ukiyo-e artist within the commercial print market, she demonstrates how Utamaro's images participated in a larger spectacle of beauty in the city of Edo (present-day Tokyo). This book is significant contribution to the field, and will be a key work for readers interested in Japanese arts and cultures.