With the opening of the Tokugawa shogunate in the 17th century, the center of politics shifted from Kyoto to Edo, but Kyoto remained a center of culture where various performing arts flourished. This work depicts the scenery of Shijogawara, Kyoto's downtown area, with the Kamo River at its center, where many people still come and go. Along Shijo Street, which crosses the center of the screens, temporary playhouses and freak shows stand side by side. The bustling life of the time is vividly depicted: on the upper side, female and young male kabuki, puppet theater, and sumo wrestling; on the lower side, rare animals such as tigers and porcupines, and dog acrobatics. Several works similar to this one depicting Shijogawara are surviving in Japan and abroad, but this one is known as the most detailed of them all.