Chokosai Eisho (active 1780–1800) | Hobbyhorse Dance (Harukoma) | Edo period, late 18th century

By the mid-18^th century hobbyhorses were a children's toy and were popular in the form of a kind of stick-horse which were commonly depicted in ukiyo-e prints. Hobbyhorse dances were also performed at festivals at certain Shinto shrines in Kyoto.¹

^1. David Waterhouse, 'Where did Toragaku come from?', Musica Asiatica, volume six, (Cambridge University Press, 2008), p. 82. 

For a similar impression of the same print in the collection of the British Museum, museum number 1928,0516,0.4, go to: 

https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/A_1928-0516-0-4

For a further example in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, accession number 11.14898, go to: 

https://collections.mfa.org/objects/207089