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Japanese Prints @ St. Kate's: Selections from the Archives & Special Collections at St. Catherine University

Parading of the Mochi (Rice Cakes) Triptych

By Yōshū Chikanobu
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Part of a triptych (left). Five ladies watching a festival procession pulling a float of giant rice cakes (kagami mochi, 鏡餅) for the New Year celebration. The three women on the right panel are older than the two women in the middle panel.This is indicated by their hairstyles. The two girls in the middle wear their hair in a chigo-mage (稚児髷) style, a style that was based on what boys wore in the Momoyama and Azuchi eras. This style was appropriate for girls aged 5-12 who lived and worked in the palace. Some of the dancers in the background wear symbols associated with the New Year, such as a tengu mask and a lobster. Additional notes: Signed Yōshū Chikanobu (楊洲周延) with seal on the right panel; Publisher's seal: Fukuda Kumajirō (福田熊次郎) in a fish-shaped seal on the left panel. The Chiyoda Inner Palace (Chiyoda no Ōoku) series of 1895-1896, together with his 1897 series Chiyoda Outer Palace (Chiyoda no on-omote) provided detailed depictions of life in and around Edo Castle before the Meiji Restoration of 1868. In the Chiyoda Inner Palace set, Chikanobu documented various annual ceremonies in the women’s quarters, especially those at New Year’s, and seasonal activities, particularly those conducted in the palace gardens. While Chikanobu did not indicate specific events or name certain people that would link these images to a single date or time period, the scenes give an overall impression of what the shogun’s private quarters might have looked like in the mid-19th century.
Part of a triptych (center). Five ladies watching a festival procession pulling a float of giant rice cakes (kagami mochi, 鏡餅) for the New Year celebration. The three women on the right panel are older than the two women in the middle panel.This is indicated by their hairstyles. The two girls in the middle wear their hair in a chigo-mage (稚児髷) style, a style that was based on what boys wore in the Momoyama and Azuchi eras. This style was appropriate for girls aged 5-12 who lived and worked in the palace. Some of the dancers in the background wear symbols associated with the New Year, such as a tengu mask and a lobster. Additional notes: Signed Yōshū Chikanobu (楊洲周延) with seal on the right panel; Publisher's seal: Fukuda Kumajirō (福田熊次郎) in a fish-shaped seal on the left panel. The Chiyoda Inner Palace (Chiyoda no Ōoku) series of 1895-1896, together with his 1897 series Chiyoda Outer Palace (Chiyoda no on-omote) provided detailed depictions of life in and around Edo Castle before the Meiji Restoration of 1868. In the Chiyoda Inner Palace set, Chikanobu documented various annual ceremonies in the women’s quarters, especially those at New Year’s, and seasonal activities, particularly those conducted in the palace gardens. While Chikanobu did not indicate specific events or name certain people that would link these images to a single date or time period, the scenes give an overall impression of what the shogun’s private quarters might have looked like in the mid-19th century.
Part of a triptych (right). Five ladies watching a festival procession pulling a float of giant rice cakes (kagami mochi, 鏡餅) for the New Year celebration. The three women on the right panel are older than the two women in the middle panel.This is indicated by their hairstyles. The two girls in the middle wear their hair in a chigo-mage (稚児髷) style, a style that was based on what boys wore in the Momoyama and Azuchi eras. This style was appropriate for girls aged 5-12 who lived and worked in the palace. Some of the dancers in the background wear symbols associated with the New Year, such as a tengu mask and a lobster. Additional notes: Signed Yōshū Chikanobu (楊洲周延) with seal on the right panel; Publisher's seal: Fukuda Kumajirō (福田熊次郎) in a fish-shaped seal on the left panel. The Chiyoda Inner Palace (Chiyoda no Ōoku) series of 1895-1896, together with his 1897 series Chiyoda Outer Palace (Chiyoda no on-omote) provided detailed depictions of life in and around Edo Castle before the Meiji Restoration of 1868. In the Chiyoda Inner Palace set, Chikanobu documented various annual ceremonies in the women’s quarters, especially those at New Year’s, and seasonal activities, particularly those conducted in the palace gardens. While Chikanobu did not indicate specific events or name certain people that would link these images to a single date or time period, the scenes give an overall impression of what the shogun’s private quarters might have looked like in the mid-19th century.