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Naniwaya Teahouse Waitress Okita
Title:Naniwaya Teahouse Waitress Okita
Artist:Utamaro Kitagawa
Ju_zaburo_ Tsutaya

Date:c. 1792-1793
Medium:Color woodblock print
Dimensions:14 1/4 x 9 3/8 in. (36.2 x 23.8 cm) (image, sheet)
Creation Place:Asia, Japan
Credit Line:Bequest of Richard P. Gale
Accession Number:74.1.146
Location:Not on view
Okita was a beautiful waitress at the Naniwaya tea-house near Asakusa Temple in the city of Edo. When Utamaro created this print of her, she would have been about fifteen years old. Utamaro also included a cartouche in the shape of a poem card in the upper left portion of the print with a poem by Katsura-no-Mayuzumi that further attests to the allure of Okita:

Resting at the tea-house in Naniwaya district, Myriad as the reeds of Naniwa Bay Art those who come running at the name of this shop Each passerby has to stop.