This New Year’s street scene includes figures celebrating the holiday with traditional decorations, activities, and toys. Bamboo and pine tied together symbolize strength and longevity. Two dancers at the upper left (one holding a drum and the other a fan) model their steps on a New Year’s festival from the Heian period (794–1185), an era revered for its cultural, artistic, and political flourishing in Japanese history. A group of girls enjoys a game of battledore and shuttlecock (played with paddles and a feathered birdie similar to badminton). By keeping the shuttlecock airborne as long as possible, the players gain protection against mosquitoes in the coming year.