also known as "aizome-e" (藍染絵) and "ai-e" (藍絵), "aizuri-e" (藍摺絵) translates literally as "blue printed picture," and describes prints that are produced entirely or predominantly in shades of blue. a counterpart to ostensibly red and pink "benizuri-e" (紅摺絵), "aizuri-e" were a late edo period development. perhaps due to the fact that single colour prints were cheaper to produce, the "aizuri" technique was particularly popular for "uchiwa-e".