A Japanese hand-coloured albumen print photograph titled "Dashi", depicting a group of townspeople in front of a traditional parade float. The photograph is mounted on cardstock with photograph Accession no. 2023.043-2 on the back of the page. Cut out from an album aimed to be sold to European Tourists, the image has been coloured with the use of traditional Japanese watercolours.

The Dashi in the image takes the form of a tower, with an effigy of the mythological, demigod founder of Japan's imperial family, Emperor Jimmu carrying his bow topped with a golden kite. During the Meiji period, the government worked to promote the imperial cult in an effort to strengthen loyalty to the emperor and the nation.

In 1873 the government proclaimed the holiday of Kigensetsu which celebrated the founding of the empire of Japan by the demigod Jimmu, the non-historical ancestor of Emperor Meiji.