Dōchū

kikikimono:

Oiran: courtesans in Japan

tayu with assistant (by yuki_willy_v)

O I R A N : 花魁 (by mboogiedown)

“A rare sight, even in Kyoto! An Oiran ducks beneath the curtain of an exclusive ryotei (traditional Japanese dining establishment) during an evening procession beneath the cherry blossoms….

Oiran were the high class courtesans of Edo Period Japan’s famous pleasure quarters. The highest ranking among them, according to their beauty, character, educational attainments and artistic skills, were known as Tayuu, and were patronized by only the wealthiest and most influential clients, including the Daimyo, or feudal lords.

From WIkipedia:

To entertain their clients, oiran practiced the arts of dance, music, poetry and calligraphy, and an educated wit was considered essential to sophisticated conversation.

The isolation within the closed districts resulted in the oiran becoming highly ritualised in many ways and increasingly removed from the changing society. Strict etiquette ruled the standards of appropriate behavior. Their speech preserved the formal court standards rather than the common language. A casual visitor would not be accepted; their clients would summon them with a formal invitation, and the oiran would pass through the streets in a formal procession with a retinue of servants. The costumes worn became more and more ornate and complex, culminating in a style with eight or more pins and combs in the hair, and many prescribed layers of highly ornamented garments derived from those of the earliest oiran from the early Edo period. Similarly, the entertainments offered also were derived from those of the original oiran generations before. Ultimately, their culture grew increasingly rarefied and remote from everyday life, and their clients dwindled.

Today only a few (I think there are 4) women who continue to keep the art of the Oiran alive (minus the sexual aspect).”

Oiran Dochu - おいらん道中 (by ajpscs)

20061112_2547 (by Derek Holtham)

Oiran Dochu - おいらん道中 (by ajpscs)

T A Y U U (by mboogiedown)

Since medieval times Japan has always had some form of pleasure quarter offering various forms of entertainment, including, of course, the erotic. However, it was during the Edo period’s sakoku (1639-1854) when Japan cut off all ties with the outside world, that Japanese culture, as it is known today, flourished.

It was in these walled pleasure quarters such as Kyoto’s Shimabara, Tokyo’s Yoshiwara, and Osaka’s Shinmachi that the chonin (merchants) spent much of their time and money cultivating the arts. With carnal satisfaction guaranteed, the merchants looked for other forms of entertainment.

“The women in these guarded quarters were “playmates” (yuujo) or prostitutes (shougi). The highest ranked were called oiran or “great court ladies” (tayuu). These women were dubbed “castle-destroyers” (keisei) because their sex appeal, like the mythical beauties of history, could destroy a man as easily as any army. These courtesans wore layers of ornately decorated kimono and a multitude of lacquer and tortoiseshell combs in their hair. Their wide, brocaded obi were tied in front — not, as some suppose, because it was easier to undress that way, but because that was the practice of married women and a yuujo was, in a sense, a wife for an evening. ” (Liza Dalby)

The courtesans of the pleasure quarters were trained in various arts: music, dance and poetry as well as other forms of court entertainment that, until that time, had been reserved for nobility. As times changed so did the tastes of the customers; the formality and expense involved meant only the elite were able to patronize the Tayu (the top level courtesans).

With the change in attitudes came a new type of entertainer. It was in the early 1700s when the first male-geisha appeared on the scene. However, it was not long before some entrepreneurial female entertainers followed suit and the first women geisha, as we know them today, made their debut

Today there are only 4 remaining Tayu practicing in Kyoto (minus the sexual aspects).

Tayu ,Kyoto 1988 (by gilera)