Courtesan Fujie of the Nakamajiya (Nakamajiya uchi Fujie), from the series
- Date:
- 19th century
- Medium:
- Ukiyo-e woodblock print in "ōban" format; ink and color on paper, with printed signature reading "Utamaro hitsu"
- Source:
- Harvard Art Museums
Preserved in the Harvard Art Museums, this print depicting Courtesan Fujie of the Nakamajiya (Nakamajiya uchi Fujie), from an unidentified series, is part of Kitagawa Utamaro's broader project of portrait portraits of named Yoshiwara women. The Nakamajiya was one of many brothel houses whose courtesans formed a quasi-celebrity culture in late Edo, and series identifying women by both house and personal name allowed buyers of [ukiyo-e](/glossary/ukiyo-e) to assemble portraits of their favored figures. The composition is a near-frame okubi-e or [chuban](/glossary/chuban) portrait whose vertical orientation foregrounds the courtesan's idealized oval face. Utamaro's recognizable design conventions all appear: an elongated neck rising from layered collars, slightly elongated proportions in the cheek and jaw, fine hatched strokes for the temples and side hair, and broad confident contours for kimono and obi. Behind the figure, the background is typically pared down so that the textiles' patterns can speak in concert with the carefully arranged hair ornaments. As an example of Utamaro's [bijin-ga](/glossary/bijin-ga) at its mature stage, the Harvard impression demonstrates the visual codes by which Edo viewers identified and admired a courtesan such as Fujie, including the specific brothel cartouche that named her place within the Yoshiwara's hierarchy. Even when shorn of its full series title, the print remains valuable both as a portrait of a particular working woman and as a study in how ukiyo-e produced and distributed the celebrity image in late-eighteenth-century Edo.
![A Low Class Prostitute (Gun [teppo]), from the series “Five Shades of Ink in the Northern Quarter" ("Hokkoku goshiki-zumi") by Kitagawa Utamaro](https://www.artic.edu/iiif/2/ed82be98-8a83-4163-ccc4-e2f7210cce55/full/843,/0/default.jpg)
c. 1794/95
Color woodblock print; oban
c. 1793
color woodblock print
Woodblock print
Woodblock print
Woodblock print
Woodblock print
c. 1830/35
Color woodblock print; oban
![Mount Fuji on a Moonlit Night, Kawai Bridge (Tsukiyo no Fuji [Kawaibashi]), from the series "Selection of Views of the Tokaido (Tokaido fukei senshu)" by Kawase Hasui](https://www.artic.edu/iiif/2/d0960668-1e73-339a-b182-fb995a54bff0/full/843,/0/default.jpg)
1947
Color woodblock print; oban
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Courtesan Fujie of the Nakamajiya (Nakamajiya uchi Fujie), from the series was created by Kitagawa Utamaro (喜多川歌麿) in 19th century.
Courtesan Fujie of the Nakamajiya (Nakamajiya uchi Fujie), from the series depicts mount fuji.