This is part of a picture scroll, Junigatsu asobi (Entertainments for twelve months), which describes month by month annual events and seasonal amusements held among aristocrats and high-class people in Kyoto in the latter half of the 17th century. 

It is New Year, and large shops are decorated with sacred straw festoons with urajiro (a variety of hosta), and yuzuriha (a variety of daphne), auspicious plants regarded as symbols of prosperity. At one of the entrances, a strolling musician accompanies himself by scraping a bamboo whisk along a serrated stick as he sings a festive song originally meant to drive away harmful birds. On the street we can see people dressed in their best kimono exchanging greetings, and children playing giccho, a game with a wish for sound health during the year, trying to hit a ball with brooms or swinging bats called buri-buri. A lively scene of the New Year being welcomed in Kyoto.

It is said that at that time a number of beautiful picture scrolls like this were produced to meet orders from provincial lords who admired the elegant style of Kyoto. The Chester Beatty Library in Ireland holds two scrolls identical to this one.

*You can see the whole text (Japanese only) and images of this book in the Rare Books Image Database in the NDL website. (How to use Rare Books Image Database)