Prince Genji Amusing Himself on the beach at Futami, Utagawa Kunisada

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Kunisada illustrated an extremely popular serialized novel, The False Murasaki, Rustic Genji (Nise Murasaki Inaka Genji), published in thirty-eight volumes from 1828 to 1842. Based on the eleventh-century novel Tale of Genji (Genji monogatari) by court lady-in-waiting Murasaki Shikibu (937/8-after 1014), the literary parody spawned kabuki plays and a large number of woodblock prints. Rustic Genji's singular hair-style was described in the book, its topknot divided at the end like a shrimp's tail. The parody told teh story of a libertine country prince who echoed the exploits of the eleventh-century Shining Prince Genji, but also is thought to be a thinly veiled parody of the reigning shogun. This triptych was one of a series of three, published over three consecutive years, all with the same title and shared theme of Rustic Genji enjoying Japan's beaches.