If you have a a Numpy function that takes for example two arguments, my proposal is to add a optional argument that allows that function to be applied to cells of dimensions i and j by function_name(a,b,range=(i,j)) so that the function is applied to subarrays of dimension i of a and subarrays of dimension j of b to create a new array. The broadcast operation and the axis arguments are not a general solution. I J you have such mechanism as the example shows.
The 1 cell of a matrix are the rows, etc.