Hanaōgi of the Ōgiya, with Her Kamuro Yoshino and Tatsuta

Hanaōgi of the Ōgiya, with Her Kamuro Yoshino and Tatsuta, is a color woodblock print by Kitagawa Hidemaro of the early nineteenth century, held by the Museum of Fine Arts Boston (object number 202057). The print depicts Hanaōgi, the most famous high-ranking courtesan (yobidashi chūsan) of the Ōgiya house of the Yoshiwara, accompanied by her two child attendants (kamuro), Yoshino and Tatsuta. Hanaōgi had been the central celebrity beauty of Edo for two decades by Hidemaro's time, celebrated by Utamaro in numerous ōkubi-e of the 1790s and by Chōbunsai Eishi in his 'Comparison of Beauties of the Pleasure Quarters'; Hidemaro's contribution to her iconography places him within an established tradition of named-courtesan portraiture. The composition follows the standard Yoshiwara portrait format: the seated or standing courtesan in elaborate uchikake robes occupies the center of the sheet, flanked by her two small kamuro in matching patterned kimono. The figural style — elongated neck, narrow oval face, characteristic late-Kitagawa head ornament — derives directly from Utamaro's late manner but with the slightly heavier modeling that distinguishes Hidemaro's hand. The print belongs to the largest single collection of Hidemaro's work in the United States, the Museum of Fine Arts Boston's holdings of late-Utamaro school [bijin-ga](/glossary/bijin-ga).