When I made this one, I actually didn't know much about what the image represented; it is taken from a surimono print in my collection, and the lettering on such prints is very difficult to decipher. I just thought it was an interesting image, clearly related to spring/new year.

The internet these days provides a much deeper source of information, and we learn that the main character depicted here is an itinerant seller of kesōbumi (love letters). His clients would be men who were perhaps not so good at writing letters, and who needed this service.

Over the years, the demand for such things seems to have decreased, and the pre-prepared letters hanging from the branch came to represent a talisman for good fortune. If you bought one from him, it would surely bring success (in both business and romance), not to mention 'guaranteeing' that you would always be attractive to potential mates.