Six women in the foreground are guards, uniformly dressed in thick black robes and protective headgear. They are responsible for protecting the Ooku evacuees whenever there is a fire or other disturbance. Several carry halberds / naginata sparks,...
actors; built works; trees; men (male humans); kimonos; hats; hair ornaments; flowers; arrows; bells (idiophones); swords
Actors gather outside the main hall of the Ooku residential area to give a special performance for the new year on the first "horse day" of the 2nd month (according to the zodiac calendar). One actor carries a hunting bird while another actor is...
In the 3rd month of the year, special tea ceremonies were held in the Inner Palace when guests and hosts played sophisticated games, such as guessing which types of tea were being served, or exchanged roles. In mawaribana guests took turns...
On the 7th day of the new year, the shogun presented the Inner Palace with large cakes of pounded rice / mochi. Making and eating mochi is still a popular new year's celebration, with small mochi cakes in a vegetable stew / ozoni being a popular...
Moonlight gives a soft pink glow to the cherry blossoms and falling petals. The woman at center carries a woven bamboo lantern that also shines up into the tree limbs. The breeze that caused a cascade of petals has also touched her sleeves to sway,...
Martial arts was certainly expected of the men in samurai families, but women drawn from those families to the shogun's Inner Palace would also be familiar with handling weapons. During the Edo Period, use of the halberd / naginata was particularly...
women; kimonos; flowers (plants); trees; Single Built Works
Within the Edo Castle inner compound was a garden area that was designed to resemble a quiet mountainous region, with rustic teahouses / ochaya where the women of the Inner Palace could relax as if in a country village. Two such thatched roof...
On the first morning of the new year, a special spiced wine or otosu is drunk before breakfast and thought to bring good health throughout the coming year. Usually the youngest member of the family or group is served first, and in Chikanobu's...
A kneeling woman lifts a heavy padded cloth. She wears a gray kimono patterned with flying birds, grasses and a river and underneath this three white under robes, which show at the front and back openings of her long sleeves. Her orange obi is...
At New Year's playing with silk thread balls / itomari was popular among girls and women. Such hand balls / temari were filled with natural sponges for bouncing or with cloth or hair if used for rolling, tossing or just decoration. Here two older...
banners; parasols; flowers (plants); baskets; women; men (male humans); kimonos; processions; floats (vehicles); Built complexes and districts
This set of small deluxe prints revisited many of the subjects and themes Chikanobu had depicted in earlier and larger formats. But where the "Chiyoda Inner Palace" or Chiyoda Ooku series of triptychs portrayed the shogun's private quarters where...
