its supposed to be like a diorama or something
this represents a stage play scene(sets) of "Asagao-nikki, at Ohigawa-river"which has been played both in Kabuki and Jyoruri/papet on stages in Japan
Those are amazing, thank you very much for posting them. Where did you find them? Are there higher-res versions available?
These are examples of an early form of Japanese papermodeling called tatebanko. I'd also like to hear where you found these.
just browsin photobucket
http://www.tulips.tsukuba.ac.jp/pub/kichosho/kyoiku-nishikie-eng.html
http://tatebanko.com/