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A hanamachi (
Historically, hanamachi could contain a high number of okiya and ochaya, and would also contain a kaburenjō (
Gion, a geisha district in Kyoto, also has a vocational school, called nyokoba. Many of the teachers there are designated as Living National Treasures.[citation needed]
Yūkaku
editHanamachi were preceded by the registered red-light districts of Japan, known as yūkaku (
Following the development of the geisha profession in the yūkaku in the mid-1700s, many geisha, working inside the yūkaku alongside yūjo and courtesans, began to compete with them; though the entertainment they offered was mostly (and in official terms, entirely) devoid from sex work, geisha instead offered companionship and entertainment to men at parties, and were commonly not bound to the same controlling contracts that many courtesans were.
Having developed from a previously-male profession of entertainers who performed at the parties of some yūjo, geisha were at times legally prevented from operating outside of yūkaku, despite also being legally prevented from appearing as, operating as and stealing clients from courtesans; as a result, many yūkaku went on to develop into hanamachi.
All three yūkaku are now defunct, both as courtesan districts and geisha districts, though tayū reenactors continue to practice the performing arts of upper-class courtesans in Shimabara, Kyoto, and some conventional sex work establishments continue to exist in Yoshiwara, Tokyo.
Kyoto hanamachi
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Map of Kyoto kagai[2] |
There are currently five active hanamachi in Kyoto, generally referred to as kagai in the local Kyoto dialect instead of hanamachi, and sometimes referred to collectively as the gokagai (
- Gion (separated as Gion Kōbu and Gion Higashi)
- Miyagawa-chō
- Kamishichiken
- Pontochō
As a hanamachi for geisha, the district of Shimabara is defunct; having previously formed part of the city's six districts (collectively referred to as the rōkkagai ("six flower towns")), when Shimabara's last geisha departed in the late 20th century, the district was considered defunct, despite the continuation of tayū within the district.[3]
The geisha districts of Kyoto are primarily clustered around the Kamo River, from Sanjō Street (3rd Street) to Gojō Street (5th Street), particularly around Shijō Street – four of the five districts are in this area. Kamishichiken is separated from the others, being far to the northwest, while the defunct district of Shimabara is also located to the west; most districts are roughly centered around their respective rehearsal halls, known as kaburenjō (
Traditions
editEach district has a distinctive crest (kamon or mon), which appears on geisha's kimono, as well as on lanterns.
A summer tradition around the time of the Gion Festival among the hanamachi of Kyoto is to distribute personalized uchiwa (
All the Kyoto hanamachi stage public dances annually, known as odori (generally written in the traditional kana spelling of をどり, rather than modern spelling of おどり), featuring both maiko and geisha. These also feature an optional tea ceremony (tea and wagashi served by maiko) before the performance. These are performed for several weeks, mostly in the spring – four hanamachi hold them in the spring with one (Gion Higashi) holding theirs in the autumn. Different districts started public performances in different years; the oldest are those of Gion Kōbu and Pontochō, whose performances started at the Kyoto exhibition of 1872,[7][8] while others (Kamishichiken, Miyagawachō) started performing in the 1950s. There are many performances, with tickets being inexpensive, ranging from around 1500 yen to 4500 yen.[9] The best-known is the Miyako Odori performed in Gion Kōbu, which is one of the two oldest and has the most performances.
The dances are as follows (listed in order of performance through the year):
- Kitano Odori (
北野 をどり) – Kamishichiken (since 1953), spring, varying dates, currently last week of March and first week of April - Miyako Odori (
都 をどり) – Gion Kōbu (since 1872), all of April - Kyō Odori (
京 をどり) – Miyagawa-chō (since the 1950s), first 2 weeks of April - Kamogawa Odori (
鴨川 をどり) – Pontochō (since 1872), most of May - Gion Odori (
祇園 をどり) – Gion Higashi, early November
The district of Shimabara previously produced the Aoyagi Odori (
There is also a combined show of all five districts, which is called "Five Geisha District Combined Public Performance" (
Tokyo hanamachi
edit- Shinbashi
- Akasaka
- Asakusa
- Yoshichō
- Kagurazaka
- Mukojima
- Omori Kaigan
Hanamachi near Tokyo
editAreas historically renowned as hanamachi
editIn Osaka
editIn Kanazawa
editKanazawa's geisha districts were most active between the periods of 1820–1830 and 1867–1954. Now referred to as the chayagai, the three districts survive and often feature public performances during peak tourist seasons.
- Higashi Chaya Gai (eastern teahouse district)
- Nishi Chaya Gai (western teahouse district)
- Kazuemachi (the accountant's town)
References
edit- ^ a b c Avery, Anne Louise. Flowers of the Floating World: Geisha and Courtesans in Japanese Prints and Photographs, 1772–1926 [Exhibition Catalogue] (Sanders of Oxford & Mayfield Press: Oxford, 2006)
- ^
京都 の花街 (in Japanese) - ^ Dalby, Liza. "new geisha notes". Archived from the original on January 11, 2013.
12. In the 1970s, Shimabara in Kyoto was still considered an active hanamachi, and people spoke of the rokkagai (six hanamachi) of Kyoto. Now, in the 21st century, the geisha community of Kyoto is referred to as a group as the gokagai (five hanamachi.) Shimabara exists primarily as a living museum, with three or four women trained to play the role of the traditional tayû of the old licensed quarter.
- ^ Komaruya Sumii Archived July 5, 2012, at the Wayback Machine (English)
- ^ a b "Uchiwa Japanese Fans: The revival of Fukakusa Uchiwa by Komaruya Sumii". Kyoto Visitor's Guide. July 2007. Archived from the original on May 4, 2009.
- ^ "Wagashi: Kamishichiken Oimatsu Bitter Citrus Summer Jelly", Kyoto Foodie, August 23, 2010
- ^ Miyako Odori Archived April 15, 2012, at the Wayback Machine "A Brief History of the Miyako Odori"
- ^ Maiko Dance Archived March 27, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Geisha dances Archived January 2, 2013, at archive.today
- ^
京都 五花街合同伝統芸能特別公演 (in Japanese)
External links
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