Nakajima Utako

Nakajima Utako (中島 歌子; 14 December 1844, Tokyo – 30 January 1903) was a Japanese waka and tanka poet and conservatory founder.

As descendants of the statesman, Ōta Dōkan, the builder of Edo Castle, the Nakajimas were known for generations as village leaders.

When Nakajima was 10 years old, she became a maid of honor in the estate of the highest administrative officer of Matsudaira (松平) in Harima Province (in today's Hyōgo Prefecture).

After the Meiji restoration, Nakajima returned to Edo (now Tokyo), where she received an education in waka and calligraphy under Katō Chinami (加藤千浪).

[1] Her works include 近代の女性文学者たち (鎬を削る自己実現の苦闘; Kindai no josei bungakushatachi: shinogi o kezuru jiko jitsugen no kutō), 萩のしつく (中嶋歌子先生遺稿; Hagi no shizuku: Nakajima Utako Sensei ikō), 文学者の手紙.