Tayū

For other uses, see Tayū (disambiguation).

One of the tayū from the Wachigaiya okiya in the Shimabara district of Kyoto

Tayū (太夫) are the highest class of traditional courtesan in Japan. Though technically the highest class of oiran, a general term for the highest-ranking courtesans, tayū were distinguished historically from other oiran due to their intensive training from a young age in numerous traditional artforms, and the fact that they did not engage in sex work, unlike courtesans below their rank.

Tayū were known for their training in Japanese tea ceremony, kōdō, ikebana, Japanese calligraphy, poetry, dance, singing, and the playing of traditional instruments, such as the koto.

History

Tayū differed from lower ranks of oiran by the social class of their customers. Traditionally, tayū catered for the uppermost echelons of society, including the nobility and the imperial court. Tayū were recognised as a group in the beginning of the Edo period. Due to the limited size of their clientele, they were never numerous; during their peak there were approximately 40 tayū working in Kyoto in the Shimabara district.

Tayū have survived into the modern day in Shimabara, Kyoto, having been allowed to continue practising the cultural and performing arts traditions of their profession following the introduction of the Prostitution Prevention Law in 1957; they were declared a "special variety" of geisha.

The most famous tayū in history was Yoshino tayū (吉野太夫), who lived in the 17th century. Trained from the age of 7, she quickly mastered the many arts required to be a tayū, and made her debut at the age of 14, immediately becoming a sensation. Yoshino was well-known for her beauty, skill and erudition. Yoshino is buried in the Jōshō-ji temple in Kyoto. Every year on the second Sunday in April, near the anniversary of her death, there is a procession of tayū to the temple, where a ceremony is held.

Appearance

While entertaining, the tayū wear an elaborate kimono and hair ornaments weighing more than 2 kg. Unlike the oiran and the geisha, they do not use wigs but their own hair, which needs to be very long for the traditional elaborate coiffures. They wear white face makeup and blacken their teeth. The tayū is accompanied by an older female attendant and two kamuros, young girls wearing red livery bearing the tayū's name.

When outdoors the tayū wear distinctive extremely high platform sandals, which require a special mode of walking in order to look elegant, and also an attendant for support. This and many other aspects of the tayū's appearance were copied by the oiran, most notably in the oiran walk, a procession where the oiran processes to meet a customer.

See also

• Tayu (disambiguation)