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Description
In an abstract space, a woman sits with her kitten next to a sewing box. She holds a ruler and has a bolt of cloth on her lap. This scene seems timeless and quite tranquil, although her attention is attracted to someone or something outside the frame of view. Her reactions or emotions are difficult to interpret, although the cat remains undisturbed. Chikanobu has suggested a potential narrative to an otherwise self-contained image of domestic solitude. This print can be read as a fashion statement and as a possible story, and that ambiguity was probably part of the appeal for the whole series entitled simply "East / Azuma." These prints show a variety of activities, from applying make-up to making shrine visits with children in tow. In most images, but not all, the woman looks beyond the visible space, so that what seems like a private moment is not. The term "Azuma" is usually applied to the "Eastern Provinces" around Edo/Tokyo - from the point of view of Kyoto to the west - and therefore has a comparative quality implied, suggesting perhaps a different lifestyle from one in the old imperial capital. The term "Azuma" evokes aspects of Edo culture: innovative, up-and-coming, open (as opposed to the more restrictive closed society of Kyoto), urbane, boisterous, merchant and samurai oriented, and fashionable. Because Chikanobu used a combination of kana and kanji to write "Azuma" instead of the single kanji character for "East," he obviously wanted to evoke a pre-modern era when such a writing style was commonly used. The technique allowed multiple meanings and poetic references to be brought into the reading, enriching the viewer's experience.
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