Cherry Blossom Geisha Costume

Origin of Geisha; Geisha come out of the "floating world" the era of the pleasure quarters, giving rise to today's "flower and willow world" the world of the Geisha.

The origin of the pleasure quarters is attributed to Saburoemon who asked for, and was granted, license to build a brothel by his ruling warlord. This was placed not far from the Imperial Palace in Kyoto and was called the Yanagimachi or Willow Town.

High class courtesans were used to tempt the gentlemen of Kyoto, however objections were made due to its vicinity to the palace and so it was moved to the now infamous Shimabara. The laws of prostitution at the time kept such activities to walled in isolated pleasure quarters, islands of debauchery where a man might be entertained for the evening at a cost, this meant the culture of the quarters was very insular, if not stagnant.

The courtesans of Shimabara while otherworldly and very sophisticated were none the less "available for the night" at ludicrous prices for those who could afford them.

There were several ranks of Shimabara ladies: the highest were the Tayu, followed by the Koshi and Sancha and at the top of the social hierarchy were the Hashi. The Tayu were said to be extremely extravagant and would often hold impromptu fashion parades by flaunting their sumptous clothing in front of the other courtesans, and in doing so specify a natural hierarchy in the pleasure quarter.

Like so many aspects of Japanese culture the courtesans became highly ritualised with strict etiquette ruling who could associate with the ladies of the pleasure quarters. This made way for a new market niche, entertainers outside the pleasure quarters could legally entertain a man in a less intimate manner freely and without the rules that government the ways of the Tayu. Unlicensed pleasure quarters sprang up all over Japan, the appeal of the free thinking unruly women grew rapidly.

Many of these areas were near to Shinto shrines and offered tea and entertainment to pilgrims, lending the name Ochaya (or tea house) to the establishments at which these girls entertained, though liquor was quick to overtake tea on the menu. The Odoroki or dancing girls were very popular in these areas for entertainment, though as some of the girls grew older it became innappropriate to take this name and so called themselves Geisha after the male Geisha of the pleasure quarters who would entertain men at their banquets before they would retire for the night with the courtesans. These male Geisha, or Taikomochi, may have been the first but they were soon superseded by the popularity of the female Geisha

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