Okita of the Naniwaya Studying Her Face in a Hand Mirror
1795-96
The teahouse waitress in this print occupied the in-between realm of an "unregistered" sex worker who might simply serve tea and snacks but might also agree to requests for assignations. By the 1790s, this type of woman was increasingly common even in the licensed pleasure quarters of the Yoshiwara, making it easier for men to satisfy their desires at cut-rate costs.
--Catherine Roche, Curatorial Associate, 2010
Woodblock print; ink and color on paper
Sheet: 14 1/2 x 9 1/2 in. (36.8 x 24.1 cm)
Gift of Mary and Allan Kollar, in honor of the 75th Anniversary of the Seattle Art Museum
2017.23.7
Provenance: Collection of Henri Vever (1854-1942), France; [Sotheby’s, London, Highly Important Japanese Prints, Illustrated Books and Drawings from the Henri Vever Collection: Part I, Mar. 26, 1974, lot no. 204]; Huguette Berès (1914-1999), Paris, France; [Sotheby’s, Paris, Collection Huguette Berès, Estampes, Dessins et Livres Illustres Japonais, Nov. 27, 2002, lot no. 54, reproduced p. 70]; purchased at auction by Allan Kollar, Seattle, Washington, 2002; to Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington, 2017
Photo: Scott Leen