The assorted characters here belong to the repertoire of Ōtsu-e, or “Ōtsu pictures,” which were simple, local folk paintings, serving as protective talismans, sold to travelers and religious pilgrims passing through the town of Ōtsu along the Tōkaidō highway that linked Edo (Tokyo) with Kyoto. By the 19th century, the folk deities and characters from popular mythology were codified into a group of ten and were represented in art and literature.

Unlike the simple folk paintings of single icons, this painting is rendered with sophisticated brushwork, by one of the pre-eminent professional painters in Kyoto, Bunrin, who composed the figures together, floating like apparitions.  Bunrin is known for his evocative, atmospheric landscape paintings and only infrequently painted figures.