Sending calendar prints as New Year salutations was one of the amenities of traditional Japan. Much like the contemporary New Year's cards with which your mailbox is presently crammed, these "nengajo" were seasonal reminders of good will. And just as yours will end up in tomorrow's trash, these somewhat more elaborate greetings were also discarded. This is what makes them now so rare.
How much more scarce are the erotic calendar prints -- those "shunga" sent to special friends or clients, ushering in the season with something more piquant than plum blossoms.
Here the first New Year's visit to the shrine was accomplished with lifted kimono and a lazy holiday afternoon was accompanied by foot play under the "kotatsu."