In late 18th century Japan, in the city of Edo (present-day Tokyo), both Santocirc; Kyôden and Kitagawa Utamaro were employed by publisher Tsutaya Jûzaburô in the production of illustrated books for the thriving market of ukiyo printed materials. Sometimes Kyôden and Utamaro collaborated on projects, such as when Kyôden wrote the text and Utamaro supplied the images, as in several books of the early Kansei era. Sometimes another pattern emerges that suggests another kind of collaboration (or perhaps co-option): that of single-sheet print "stills" based upon illustrated book prototypes. The case of Utamaro's 'physiognomic' print series the 'Fujin Sogaku jûttai' of 1792-93 and their connection to a sharebon (style book) by Kyôden is most telling. The further linkage of these prints to an erotic book, and to dated books of the period indicates how much single-sheet prints relied upon their meaning being understood by some of their audience; like parodic prints, these images relied upon more informed readers understanding the fuller meanings and allusions in both text and image. This kind of 'collaboration' between Kyocirc;den and Utamaro also illuminates the role of the publisher in the management of their careers, their corpus, and their reading public. This talk thus investigates through these examples two modes of interaction between text and image, and between writer and illustrator, to suggest further dimensions of print culture in the Edo period.