Kitagawa Utamaro's Hidematsu, Yasokichi, Izukiyo of the Otsuya, from the series Female Geisha Section of the Yoshiwara Niwaka Festival (Seiro niwaka onna geisha no bu), is held by the Art Institute of Chicago (artwork 100037). Like other sheets in the same series, the design portrays named geisha of a particular Yoshiwara house, here the Otsuya, performing during the annual Niwaka festival. The Niwaka was a defining feature of the Yoshiwara calendar: for a brief period each year the licensed quarter became a theater district, and its courtesans, kamuro, and geisha put on amateur skits, processions, and dances in costume. Utamaro's Female Geisha Section series concentrates on the geisha contingent within this festival, treating each named performer as an individual portrait while keeping a clear connection to her household. The triple subject, Hidematsu, Yasokichi, and Izukiyo of the Otsuya, lets Utamaro group three figures across the sheet, articulating the geisha as a corporate unit while preserving each woman's distinguishing features. His handling of head tilts, hairstyles, and patterned textiles supplies the visual differentiation that the inscribed names ask the viewer to recognize. Stylistically the print displays Utamaro's mature Edo [bijin-ga](/glossary/bijin-ga) manner, with confident keyblock outlines, considered [nishiki-e](/glossary/nishiki-e) color, and an emphasis on the upper body that throws hair ornaments and collars into relief. The Art Institute of Chicago's holding adds to the body of Utamaro material accessible to researchers interested in the Yoshiwara Niwaka, the social structure of the Yoshiwara, and the named-portrait tradition in [ukiyo-e](/glossary/ukiyo-e). The series remains one of the richer visual sources for the Edo geisha as a professional and festival performer.
![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
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Hidematsu, Yasokichi, Izukiyo of the Otsuya (Otsuya uchi Hidematsu, Yasokichi, Izukiyo), from the series "Female Geisha Section of the Yoshiwara Niwaka Festival (Seiro niwaka onna geisha no bu)" was created by Kitagawa Utamaro (喜多川歌麿) in 1783.
Yes — Hidematsu, Yasokichi, Izukiyo of the Otsuya (Otsuya uchi Hidematsu, Yasokichi, Izukiyo), from the series "Female Geisha Section of the Yoshiwara Niwaka Festival (Seiro niwaka onna geisha no bu)" is part of the Female Geisha Section of the Yoshiwara Niwaka Festival series by Kitagawa Utamaro.
Hidematsu, Yasokichi, Izukiyo of the Otsuya (Otsuya uchi Hidematsu, Yasokichi, Izukiyo), from the series "Female Geisha Section of the Yoshiwara Niwaka Festival (Seiro niwaka onna geisha no bu)" depicts bijin-ga, yoshiwara, and summer.
