When we think of Japonisme, it is primarily in the decorative arts -- a painting of a European woman holding a Japanese fan or wearing a kimono, some oriental objects on the mantelpiece behind her -- rather than in terms of filmic or literary influence. It is mostly the decorative influence that this book picks up.
Whitney Otto is well-known already for her previous novel, "How to Make an American Quilt," which was made into a feature film. "A Collection of Beauties at the Height of Their Popularity" is her fourth book, and takes its title from a genre of pictorial art -- ukiyo-e, or "pictures of the floating world." More specifically, it comes from one particular series of woodblock prints, of a type called bijin-ga, or "pictures of beautiful women."
Each of the 12 chapters of this sumptuously produced volume is illustrated with a Japanese print; several of them, such as the one that gives the book its title, are by the 18th-century master Utamaro. Each chapter's story can be connected to its picture, except for a short unnumbered section at the beginning, which has no illustration.