E-hon or Ehon (絵本) is the Japanese term for picture books. It may be applied in the general sense, or may refer specifically to a type of illustrated volume published from at least the mid-Edo period onwards, often as chapter-books in series. In English, it is this second usage which is the more common, i.e.: Japanese picture-books of a specific format (and produced in the traditional manner).
E-hon were traditionally produced as woodblock prints on thin washi paper (printed on one side only, then folded in half, creating a "leaf" with printing on both sides), bound together (right-to-left page order) with a simple external threaded binding; typically black (sumi) ink on white paper, often with polychromatic cover designs & sometimes with (usually more limited) internal colouring. Extremely popular during the late Edo-Meiji era. The modern Japanese manga format was created as a combination of ehon chapter-books with western-style comic books.
E-hon production was a significant part of the Japanese publishing industry (particularly) during the 19th century; most Japanese woodblock print artists of the period produced e-hon designs (often in large quantities), as commercial work.[1][2] col_id=443