Hanami Kouji runs from Shinbashi to the Kennin-ji Temple. Among the many tourists who come and go, you can sometimes see maiko or geiko girls heading to their engagements. Their glamorous figures hark back to an earlier era.
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in kyoto > Hana-machi
Known as Hana-machi, the entertainment district of Gion has inherited the spirit of Shimabara. People might have heard the name Shimabara, which became widely known when Shinsengumi gained popularity recently. The original Hana-machi was forced to move in AD1641 from Kyoto’s Rokujo Misuji-machi to its current location. The district became known as Shimabara because the chaotic relocation reminded people of the Shimabara Disturbance in Kyushu. Even today, geisha and taiyu (premiere geisha) are employed at Wachigai-ya, while Sumi-ya offers entertainment places and the Shimabara Big Gate retains its bygone charm. With the founding of a haiku poetry society in the middle of the Edo era, Shimabara developed its own vibrant culture. This required taiyu to be accomplished at various arts, such as the tea ceremony, dance, flower arrangement and waka poetry. At its peak, there were some 300 teahouses situated around the entrance to the Yasaka Shrine. The rising popularity of the dancer Izumo no Okuni led to makeshift playhouses being built at Shijokawara, resulting in the prosperity of Gion as another entertainment area. The society cultivated in Shimabara to entertain the elite class shifted to Gion, which has, in turn, become the present-day Hana-machi.
The beauty of Kyoto is linked closely to Hana-machi because Kyoto has a unique aesthetic sense, developed through a culture of entertaining the elite. Top maiko and geiko at Gion decorate their hair with gorgeous hair ornaments on all four sides so that they look wonderful from any angle. When putting on their make-up, they place a paper bib over their kimonos in order not to spoil them. This bib is discarded when they finish. For those who follow Hana-machi culture, waste is a virtue. The women wear only rouge, and use make-up brushes and hair accessories that took a long time to create. And their sophisticated behaviour is proof of their enduring search for beauty.
Kyoto culture has recently garnered a lot of attention through
films and other media. It is a culture of aesthetics and entertainment
with a strong life force, entirely different from tangible cultural
objects. It is important for us to continue to protect this culture
and learn from it.
References
“The Current Kyoto Taste” published by Nozomi Co., Ltd. in 2004
Sumiya Entertainment Culture Museum HP
http://www16.ocn.ne.jp/~sumiyaho/index.html
