The Scottish-born artist Elizabeth Keith first visited Japan in 1915. What had been intended as a brief visit turned into a stay of nine years, during which time she also travelled to China, Korea and the Philippines. Keith made contact with missionaries, and as a result was able to travel to remote and otherwise barely accessible places, where she made sketches of local scenes and customs. During her stay in Japan she learnt traditional methods of wood-block printmaking. Queen Elizabeth purchased a group of Keith’s prints, including these two, from the artist’s London dealer in 1937.