It is said that Hokusai, who was forced to fall in the suspension of operations with publishers during the Tenpo Famine (1833 - 39), made a plan to drew many Nikuhitsu gajo and sell them in shops in order to avoid starvation.
天保の大飢饉（1833-39年）の最中、版元たちとともに休業状態に追い込まれた北斎は一計を案じ、肉筆画帖をいくつも描いて店先で売らせることで餓死を免れたと伝えられる。