This is the 7175th most frequent Japanese word.
一寸法師
"一寸法師" (Issun-bōshi) refers to a tiny, inch-tall boy in Japanese folklore who becomes a hero through bravery and cleverness.
In this sentence, '一寸法師' refers to the title of a traditional Japanese folktale about a tiny samurai.
昔話の『一寸法師』はとても人気のある物語です。
The folktale 'Issun Bōshi' is a very popular story.
Here, '一寸法師' is used metaphorically to compare the size of the doll to the tiny samurai from the folktale.
その人形はまるで一寸法師のように小さいです。
That doll is as small as Issun Bōshi.
In this context, '一寸法師' serves as the central theme of the play being performed by the children.