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Ichiriki Ochaya

Mon, 03 Aug 2009 04:30:06 +0100

The Ichiriki Ochaya (translated Ichiriki Teahouse) is one of the most famous and historic Ochaya in Kyoto, Japan (note that Ochaya are distinct from Chashitsu). It is located on Shijo-dori Street near the heart of the district of Gion, and is considered an exclusive and high-end establishment, access is invitation only and entertainment can cost upwards of 800,000 yen a night.

History

The Ichiriki Ochaya is over 300 years old, and has been a major centerpiece of Gion since the beginning of the entertainment district. Like other Ochaya in Gion, the Ichiriki was a place where men of status and power went to be entertained by Geisha, who distracted guests through dancing, banter, and flirtation. The Ichiriki has tradtitionally entertained those of political and business power.

Sada Yacco

Mon, 03 Aug 2009 04:28:53 +0100

Sadayakko (川上貞奴, Kawakami Sadayakko^?, July 18, 1871 - December 7, 1946) was a Japanese actress and dancer.

Born in Tokyo, Sadayakko was trained as a geisha and came to the attention of Itō Hirobumi who took an interest in furthering her education. In 1894 she married the actor Otojiro Kawakami, to whom she had been introduced by Hirobumi.

Sadayakko performed in the company her husband founded, The Kawakami Theatre, when it was considered improper for women to perform on stage with men. In 1899, the troupe toured America and Europe, and became the first Japanese theater company to be seen in the west. Performances were held in San Francisco, and New York City in the United States, as well as at the 1900 Exposition Universelle in Paris (with theatrical lighting there done by Loie Fuller^[1]) and several other European cities.

Upon the death of her husband in 1911, Sadayakko lived with Momosuke Fukuzawa (1868–1938). Their restored home is now a museum.

After 1918, Sadayakko ceased touring and opened a textile concern in Nagoya. She also founded a children's drama school and children's theater in Tokyo and continued to perform occasionally in Japan.

Sadayakko with Momosuke Fukuzawa

Sadayakko died at 75 in Atami, Japan.

In America, her performances strongly influenced the work of American modern dance pioneer Ruth St. Denis.

Mineko Iwasaki

Mon, 03 Aug 2009 04:27:58 +0100

Mineko Iwasaki (岩崎峰子 a.k.a. 岩崎究香, Iwasaki Mineko^?), born Masako Tanaka (田中政子, Tanaka Masako^?, born on November 2, 1949 in Kyoto), was Japan's number one geiko (geisha) until her sudden retirement at the age of 29. Arthur Golden later used her story to write the book Memoirs of a Geisha.

Geisha

Iwasaki left home to begin studying traditional Japanese dance at the Iwasaki okiya (geisha house) in the Gion district of Kyoto when she was only five years old. She was legally adopted by the okiya's owner, Madame Oima, and took on the family name Iwasaki. She had been chosen as the house's atotori, or heir. When Madame Oima became too old to run the business any longer, it would be Iwasaki's job to take over. Iwasaki became a maiko (apprentice geiko) at age 15. By age 21 she had earned a reputation as Japan's best dancer and maiko. She officially became a geiko at this time.

Iwasaki worked herself to her limit, both physically and mentally. She developed a kidney condition that nearly killed her, but recovered and made a strong re-entry into the geiko community. She entertained numerous celebrities and foreign dignitaries such as the United Kingdom's Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles. Her fame and success earned her many admirers, and she generally enjoyed life in the Iwasaki okiya. Yet her fame also made her the subject of jealousy and gossip, and she was sometimes faced with physical harassment both when performing and in public. In her autobiography, she describes having to defend herself with a sharp piece of bamboo from a basket she was carrying when a group of men assaulted her on the street.

Iwasaki became frustrated with the tradition-bound world of the geiko, particularly what she saw as inadequacies in the education system, and unexpectedly retired at the height of her career. She had hoped that this would shock Gion into reform, but instead, many other ranking geiko emulated her and retired as well. In her autobiography, Iwasaki speculates that she may have inadvertently doomed the profession. She transitioned to a career in art and married an artist named Jinichiro Sato, had a daughter named Koko (sometimes called Kosuke because of her tomboyishness), and now lives in a suburb of Kyoto.

Taikomochi

Mon, 03 Aug 2009 04:20:45 +0100

The taikomochi (太鼓持) or hōkan (幇間), were the original mail Geisha of Japan.

History

The Japanese version of the jester, these men were once attendants to daimyo (feudal lords) from the 1200s, originating from the 'Ji Sect of Pure Land Buddhism', which focused on dancing. These men both advised and entertained their lord and came to be known as doboshu ('comrades'), who were also tea ceremony connoisseurs and artists. By the 1500s, they became known as otogishu or hanashishu (story tellers), where they focused on story telling, homour, conversation. They were sounding boards for military strategies and they battled at the side of their lord.

A time of peace began in the 1600s and the otogishu and hanashishu no longer were required by their lords, and so they had to take on a new role. They changed from being advisors to becoming pure entertainers, and a number of them found employment with the Oiran, high class Japanese courtesans. Seisuisho ('Laughs to Banish Sleep'), a collection of comic stories written by Sakuden Anrakuan, was compiled during this time.

"Geisha" means "arts person", while hōkan was the formal name for "jester". Taikomochi was a less formal name for these men, which literally means "drum (taiko) bearer", though not all of them used the drum. It could also have been a corrupted way of saying "to flatter someone". These three terms came into use during the 1600s. In 1751 the first onna geisha (female geisha) arrived at a party and caused quite a stir. She was called geiko ("arts girl"), which is still the term for geisha in Kyoto today. By the end of the 1700s these onna geisha outnumbered the male geisha - the taikomochi - and the men became so few that they started by otoko geisha ("male geisha"). The geisha even took over from the yujo due to their artistic skills, their contemporary outlook and their sophistication. The men continued to assist the women - this time the geisha - in the entertainment field.

Geisha

Mon, 03 Aug 2009 04:14:14 +0100

Geisha (芸者^?), Geiko (芸子^?) or Geigi (芸妓^?) are traditional, female Japanese Entertainers whose skills include performing various Japanese arts such as classical music and dance.

Terms

Geisha (pronounced /ˈɡeɪʃә/), like all Japanese nouns, has no distinct singular or plural variants. The word consists of two kanji, 芸 (gei) meaning "art" and 者 (sha) meaning "person" or "doer". The most literal translation of geisha into English would be "artist" or "performing artist". Another name for geisha used in Japan is geiko, which is usually used to refer to geisha from Western Japan, including Kyoto.

Apprentice geisha are called maiko(舞子, lit. "dance child") or hangyoku (半玉), "half-jewel" (meaning that they are paid half the wage as opposed to a full geisha), or by the more generic term o-shaku (御酌), literally "one who pours (alcohol)". Maiko's white make-up and elaborate kimono and hairstyle is the popular image held of geisha. A woman entering the geisha community does not have to start out as a maiko, having the opportunity to begin her career as a full geisha. Either way, however, usually a year's training is involved before debuting either as a maiko or as a geisha. A woman above 21 is considered too old to be a maiko and becomes a full geisha upon her initiation into the geisha community. However, those who do go through the maiko stage can enjoy more prestige later in their professional lives.

Tokyo geisha are more likely to start at 18 years old for hangyoku, so on average, Tokyo hangyoku are slightly older than their Kyoto counterparts.