Hanamachi
Hanamachi ( Japanese 花街 , flower district ) are traditional geisha districts in Japan .
Origin of the term
The term Hanamachi ( 花街 ) in its alternative reading Kagai originally referred to red light districts , in which both geisha and prostitutes had their homes and workplaces.
units
The smallest socio-economic unit in a hanamachi usually consists of two buildings:
- An okiya ( 置 き 屋 or 置 屋 ) is the home of the geisha 芸 妓 (Jp. 芸 妓, 芸 子 geiko), the term is also used synonymously for the geisha living in it - "family". Men are only allowed to enter an okiya under certain circumstances and at certain times; Men who are allowed to enter an okiya are calligraphy and music teachers, wig makers, hairdressers, kimono cutters and clothes, as well as employees of the Kemban-sho (trade union or registration office of a Hanamachi).
- An o-chaya ( お 茶屋 , honorable tea house ) is the building in which the geiko 芸 子 and maiko 舞 妓 can do their work and entertain their customers.
Another important facility in every Hanamachi is the Kaburen-jō ( 歌舞 練 場 , song-and-dance practice site ), which acts as the artistic headquarters of the respective Hanamachi. A theater and the offices of the Kemban-sho ( 検 番 署 ) are mostly to be found here. Each hanamachi also has a school where artistic skills such as dance and music are learned. In the past, each hanamachi had its own school. Today there are only three schools in Kyoto and only one in Tokyo: the Nyokoba school in Gion-Kōbu, the Kamogawa school in Ponto-chō, the Higashiyama school in Miyagawa-chō, the geisha in Gion Higashi and Kamischichiken have premises that serve as a teaching facility, but their teachers come from all over Japan. In Tokyo there is the Mukojima School in Asakusa, Tokyo .
Well-known Hanamachi
The crisis that the geisha profession has gotten into in modern times has resulted in many hanamachi closing down across Japan. Most of those still in existence today are spread across the three major cities of Kyoto , Osaka and Tokyo , where traditional Japanese culture and geisha have survived.
Kyoto
Kyōto has five Hanamachi, which are also referred to here as "Kagai":
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Gion ( 祇 園 or 祇 を ん ) is sometimes only counted as a quarter, but consists of two hanamachi:
- Gion-Kōbu ( 祇 園 甲 部 ), in whose kaburen-jo the Miyako-Odori traditionally takes place.
- Gion-Higashi ( 祇 園 東 )
- Ponto-chō ( 先 斗 町 )
- Kamishichiken ( 上 七 軒 )
- Miyagawa-chō ( 宮 川 町 )
- Shimabara ( 嶋 原 or 島 原 ) Shimabara is no longer officially listed as a kagai because geisha have not worked there for a long time. In ancient Japan, the Tayū lived in Shimara , highly educated artists and companions who studied and maintained the arts of the nobles. Today there are still 6 tayu, but since their number is so small, Shimabara is no longer called an official kagai.
Tokyo
Tokyo has six hanamachi, in which the number of geishas has decreased significantly:
Osaka
- Shinchi day care center
- Minami Shinchi
- Shinmachi
Kanazawa
- Higashi Chaya
- Nishi Chaya
- Kazuemachi Chaya
The number of maiko and geisha in the Hanamachis of Kyoto was more than 500 in 1965, in March 2005 it was only 193. The number of geisha has increased sharply since 2005, and this is particularly evident in Kanazawa, Atami and Kyoto. In Kanazawa, the number of geisha fell from 42 to 11 between 2001 and 2011. In 2015, the Shinkansen route between Tokyo and Kanazawa was renewed, and trains now run continuously on the route. This brings more visitors to the city, among whom are often wealthy business people, and with it new economic prosperity with which the geisha are slowly returning. Since January 2017, 24 geisha have been working in Kanazawa.
In Atami, one of the most famous seaside resorts and locations of the onsen geisha, the number of geisha fell drastically by the turn of the century, from around 800 in the 1990s to just under 100 by 2000. According to the Atami Geigi Association, there are again 120 geisha at the beginning of 2017 active.
In Kyoto, the number of active Maiko and Geiko, as they are called there, was only 193 in 2005. In particular through the Internet, via which both the city of Kyoto and the Hanamachi and Okiya themselves advertise the Geiko and are increasingly copying it Looking for new applicants, the number of geisha has increased significantly again. In February 2017, 276 geiko and maiko, 79 maiko and 198 geiko, are again working in Kyoto. The maiko and geiko in Kyoto are also best documented; especially in Japan they have fans who document every debut. The names of which okiya or tea house they are associated with and even their approximate ages are known about every active maiko and geiko in Kyoto.
Single receipts
- ↑ Akihiko Suzuki: " Kyoto group creates geisha pension plan ", The Japan Times , March 18, 2005
- ↑ ひ が し 茶屋 街 の 新人 芸 妓 「七葉 （し ち は）」. Yomiuri Online, accessed February 1, 2017 (Japanese).