浅草で行われた生人形の見世物興行を描いています。
生人形とは、江戸時代後期から明治時代にかけて製作された等身大の人形のことです。
生きている人間に見えるほど精巧な細工がされていたことから「生人形」と呼ばれていました。

生人形は歴史上の人物や神仏、遊女、または古代中国の地理書『山海経』に登場する足長手長や穿胸(せんきょう)といった異国人物などを題材にして製作されていました。
1855年(安政2年)に江戸の浅草にて行われた生人形の見世物が好評だったため、以降も生人形を用いた見世物興行が行われ、興行の様子を国芳や芳艶などが錦絵に描きました。


It depicts a lifelike puppet show that took place in Asakusa.
iki-ningyo are life-size puppets produced from the late Edo period to the Meiji period (1868-1912).
They were called “lifelike puppets” because they were so elaborately crafted that they looked like living people.

They were made based on historical puppets, gods and Buddha, prostitutes, or exotic characters such as Ashinaga-Tenaga and Senkyo, who appeared in the ancient Chinese geography book “Sen gai kyo”.
In 1855, a lifelike puppet show was held in Asakusa, Edo (present-day Tokyo), and was so well received that lifelike puppet shows continued to be staged thereafter.
Ukiyoe artists Utagawa Kuniyoshi and Utagawa Yoshituya depicted the performances on nishikie (woodblock prints).