Naniwaya Teahouse Waitress Okita

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.