奥おく勤づとめ

noun

working as a lady's maid; service in the inner chambers

Historical term for a female attendant serving in the private quarters of a noble or high-ranking household, especially in the Edo period. Often associated with the Ōoku of the shogun's castle.

• 江え戸ど時じ代だい、大おお奥おくで奥おく勤づとめをする女じょ性せいたちは厳きびしい規き則そくに従したがっていた。

  In the Edo period, women who worked as lady's maids in the Ōoku followed strict rules.

• 彼かの女じょは若わかい頃ころ、武ぶ家けの奥おく勤づとめをしていたと聞きいた。

  I heard that when she was young, she served as a lady's maid in a samurai household.