Tayu

Tayu are distinguished from geishas by richer clothes (they put on an embroidered utikake cloak on the kimono ) and in that they tie a belt embroidered with gold in front and not behind, like geisha. Tayu hairstyles correspond to maiko hairstyles, but at tayu they are more decorated. In particular, eight kanzashi hairpins are injected into the front bun of the hairdress. There are three crests in the hairstyle, while the geishas have only one.

Tayu, like geishas, ​​whitens his face, and also blackens his teeth . Tayu shoes are very high Geta wooden sandals with three “legs” called sambonashi ( 三 本 足 , “three legs”) . They put on a bare foot; geisha wear tabi .

Tayu appeared at the beginning of the Edo period , at the beginning of the XVII century. Initially, the so-called actresses of the Kabuki theater , who achieved high skill. After some time, the state took prostitution under tight tax control, in the capital (then it was Heian-kyo , modern Kyoto ) and large cities opened the “ yukaku ” quarters , where yujo legally entertained customers. Prostitutes were divided into ranks, the word “melt” was called the highest rank of expensive prostitutes - “oiran”. They served daimyo , hatamoto , aristocracy. Among the tayu, "stars" appeared: Yoshino-tayu, Yugiri-tayu, Takao-give.

During the Sakoku period , Japanese culture turned its eyes on itself after centuries of orientation toward China. The rise of the merchant estate, so despised, also caused the rise of expensive prostitutes ^[1] . Merchants there could buy respect and honor for gold, which in the rest of Japan was impossible. High-ranking prostitutes received an outstanding education, knew how to play the aristocratic instruments of kokyu and koto , and danced dances popular at court.

Lisa Delby writes:

These women were called “castle destroyers” ( 傾城 Keisei ) because of their endearing appearance, similar to the mythical beauties of antiquity, which could destroy a person as easily as an army. The courtesans wore multilayer robes, richly decorated kimonos , and numerous varnished and tortoise combs in their hair. Wide embroidered obi were tied in front: not because it was believed by some that it was easier to untie it, but because married women dressed like that, and yujo was a “one-night wife.”

Original text

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.

- Sex and the single geisha - Dalby Liza

With the advent of geishas, ​​the tayu fell into decline. From Yoshiwara, the tayu disappeared in the years of Horeki (1751-1764) ^{[2] [3]} , they changed their name to Santya ( 散 茶 ) . Today, tayu exist only in the Watigaya tea house ( я 違 屋 ) in Kyoto Shimabar. Since prostitution in Japan was prohibited by law, they began to perform the same functions as the geisha and were declared a special kind of geisha ^[4] .

The student is kamuro ( Japanese. , It can also be read “kaburo”) ^[4] - in which girls from six to eight years old were admitted, in the 21st century children from the outside portray: it is forbidden to work in Japan until after high school.

Yoshino-tayu

Yoshino-tayu ( 吉野 太 夫 yoshino tayu:, real name is 松田 徳 子, Noriko Matsuda) . Born in a samurai family. It was sold in Rokuj м misudzi -mati ( . 三 筋 町 rokujo: misuji mati ) , the original name of Shimabara , at the age of seven, became a kamuro there. Yoshino quickly climbed the career ladder and became one of the most educated women of her time. Her friends were influential people, in particular, the monk Nichiren , who founded the sect Nichiren-shu ^[5] . Yoshino spent a lot of time in conversations with him, and also provided financial support for the Josho-ji Temple ( 常 照 寺 jo: sho: ji , literally, "a constantly shining temple") .

At 26, Yoshino bought Joeki Haiya ( я 屋 紹 益 haiya jo: eki ) , the heir to one of the city’s richest merchant families. Yoshino became his wife. However, only 12 years later, on October 7, 1643, Yoshino died of illness. She was buried on the ground of the Josho-ji Temple, and a theatrical pilgrimage “Yoshino-tayu hana kuyu” is performed every year to her grave ( 吉野 太 夫 花 供養 yoshino tayu: hana kuyou: memorial flower service for Yoshino tayu) . The remaining melts in Shimabar participate in it.

Yugiri-tayu

Yugiri-tayu ( 夕 霧 太 夫 yu: giri tayu :) : under this pseudonym, two tayu worked: Teru from Simmati and Yoshiko Nakamura from Shimabara.

Theram of Simmati

Date of birth is unknown. She died in 1678. Estimated place of birth - Kyoto "Ukyo" district, Saga quarter. It is not known how Teru got to Shimabaru, but there she got the pseudonym Senya-tayu ( я 屋 太 夫 senya tayu: I ’m melting rooms with fans ) . Later, Teru moved to Osaka, in the quarter of Simmati, where she received the pseudonym Yugiri-tayu ( п 霧 太 太 yu: giri tayu: I was melting in the evening fog) . Contemporaries describe her as a beautiful and talented woman.

Teru died of illness at the age of about 22–27 years; her death mourned the whole city. Mourning for it is served both in the Jokoku-ji temple in Osaka ( Yap. 浄 国寺 jo: koku ji ) , and in Seyryo-ji ( Yap. 清凉寺 seyryo: ji ) , as well as in Tokushima and Wakayama . The day of Yugiri-tayu’s death in haiku is indicated by the “seasonal word” of yugiri-ki ( 夕 霧 忌 , mourning for Yugiri) .

Yoshiko Nakamura

Yoshiko Nakamura ( Japanese: 中 村 芳子 nakamura yoshiko ) , October 30, 1920 - December 3, 1987. Japanese film actress, Tayu. The real name is Yoshiko Watanabe ( 渡 辺 芳子 ) . In 1936, Yoshiko graduated from the Osaka Municipal School of Horie ( Japanese: 大阪 市立 堀 江 小江 o: saka siritsu horie sho: gakko:) , and in the same year joined the troupe of the puppet theater Goban daikheiki Yamashina Kankyo ( Japanese. 碁 盤 山 記 記閑居 ) .

Her parents' house was located in the Osmati red light district of Simmati , Yoshiko inherited it in 1980 with the title "Yugiri-tayu." In Kiyomizu-dera, in November, a memorial service of Yugiri kuyo matsuri is performed ( 夕 霧 供養 «," funeral service for Yugiri ") . In 1988, a gravestone with a tank poem was installed on her grave.

Takao Giving

Takao-give ( Japanese. 高 尾 太 夫 takao I give :) , 1640–1660. Takao was the first oiran in Yoshiwara to receive the rank of Tayu. Takao, together with Yoshino-tayu and Yugiri-tayu, are called the Three Great Courtesans ( Jap. 名妓 名妓 sammyo: gi ) . The name "Tacao" was inherited, like many other names of famous courtesans.

Anseki jisyu ( 燕 石 十種 enseki jisyu ) says that the first woman named Takao later became a Buddhist nun. In January of the third year of the Manji period (1660), she passed away.

Hanaogi Tayu

Hanaogi-tayu ( Japanese 花 扇 太 夫 hanao: gi tayu:, literally " I’m tearing the Veer with flowers") , real name Hattori Yoshiko ( Japanese 服 部 佳 子 ) , she graduated from Kate private female college . From the age of three she performed on stage, performing traditional Japanese dances. In kindergarten was a model for junihito . Hanaogi studied kagura , court dances.

In her book, “Finding Who Wants to Become Tayu in Shimabar” ( 嶋 原 で 太 夫 に な る 人 を 探 し て い る Shimabara de tayu: no naru hito about sagasiteiru ) Hanaogi writes that she began to tayu because she wanted to learn to sing in the jiuta genre ^{[ 6]} . Today, in addition to the main work, she gives lectures and is engaged in management.

Tsukasa-tayu

Tsukasa-tayu ( Jap. 司 太 夫 , literally "main tayu") , real name Nakagawa Yukie ( Jap. 中 川 幸 永 ) . From 16 she was maiko in the Kyoto quarter of Gion Kobu ; her professional pseudonym is Namiko ( 奈 見 子 ) . Since childhood, she studied the Japanese tea ceremony , traditional Japanese dance, calligraphy , playing the koto. After graduating from high school, Tsukasa was trained as a maiko in okiya . At the end of her studies, she decided that she should try to become a thai, since the profession is in a dangerous position, and at 23, Yukie adopted the pseudonym Tsukasa-tayu. She maintains the site, participates in municipal events.

• Cecilia Segawa Seigle "Yoshiwara: the glittering world of the Japanese courtesan"
• C. Andrew Gerstle “18th century Japan: culture and society”

• Kyoto Tsu Tsukasa website
• Yoshino tayu hana kuyo , photo
• Kisaragi Tayu dance
• Kisaragi-tayu Interview: 1 , 2 .
• Tayu / Oiran Parade Article