The celebratory Sanbasō is kabuki dance derived from Okina, a special Noh play. It was often performed at the start of a new year or kabuki season as a "lucky dance".

This particular print, the original of which was produced around the 1760s, portrays the senzai (千歳, the "one thousand years old" man usually depicted as possessing eternal youth) presenting the sanbasō (三番叟, literally "the third old man", a character who prays for fertility and a good harvest) with a large box probably containing a mask representing the okina (翁, the old man, the last character in the Sanbasō).

Both characters wear kimono decorated with cranes and turtles, symbols of longevity probably reflecting the age of the senzai while also simply being used as auspicious symbols.