The introduction of photography and modern printing techniques to Japan in 1848 led to a decline in the popularity of ukiyo-e woodblock prints. The themes traditionally depicted in these prints were adopted by photographers, while artisans who had previously worked with colour printing blocks applied their skills to carefully hand-tinting albumen photographs.

This work is a genre of Japanese photography known as shashin, meaning a reproduction of reality. Three women hold a dance pose in front of a four-panel folding screen of birds and flowers.