Shakkyō and Hanagasa Dancers with Accompanists on a Parade Float, from the series The Sannō Festival

Dancers and shamisen players appear on a stage at a major shrine festival. The inscription identifies the standing dancer at the left as performing a Shakkyō, or Stone Bridge dance, a reference to a famous Nō play. The seated dancers, perhaps awaiting their turn, are Hanagasa, or Flower Hat, dancers. The inscription also notes the dance’s sponsors: Shin Ōsakachō, Tōri Aburachō, and Tadokorochō. The Sannō Festival was held every other year at Edo no Sannō Daigongen, a Shintō shrine known today as Hie Shrine. It alternated years with another Shintō shrine festival held at Kanda Myōjin Shrine. Kiyonaga produced two print series devoted to these two festivals. Records indicate that he did nine prints in the Sannō Festival series, but this print is the only one known to have survived.