Tayu Ceremony in Shimogamo Shrine
November, 2014
It was the time to
experience the tradition coming from past in the center of Kyoto!
Experiencing a
tradition coming from past may have several meanings in Kyoto, this time the
meaning was the “celebration of being a Tayu” in Shimogamo Shrine...
We all know about
Geishas, sometimes wrong, sometimes right, but knowledge on Tayus are far from
being widespread and is not as much as Geishas.
In order to give an
historical information, I should apply to the book of John Dougill, which I
mentioned before: Kyoto : A Cultural History.
"Tayus were
the objects of Pleasure Quarters, particularly during Edo times. Within the
compound women were divided into a hierarchy according to beauty and
accomplishment. The elite were the tayu, a type of courtesan whose
favours were reserved for the rich. Their world was modelled after that of
nobility; they were given names similar to those of princesses, and their
"ladies-in-waiting- addressed them in the deferential language of court.
When they went on assignments, they were accompanied by parasol bearers in the
kind of processions enjoyed by the aristocracy.
The tayu were
trained as entertainers, and among their skills were arts that had previously
been restricted to the nobility, but were now being spread among the merchant
class. The instrument they favoured was the shamisen, a kind of three- stringed
banjo imported from Okinawa during the fifteenth century.
…..
The heyday of the
tayu was in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Their skills declined
with their success and they began to call on others trained in dance and music
to perform for their guests. These belonged to a new profession, called
geisha.”
These are the parts
that I would like to share from the Dougill’s book. We do know how many geishas
still living in Kyoto, but there is not actual number for Tayus. Only we know
that, even if they were working as a type of courtesans before, the
anti-prostitution law which was enacted in 1958, it would not have been
possible to work as they did in the past. So, what would be the meaning of
being Tayu in todays Kyoto? It was an area that should definitely be
investigated…
From the Tayu ceremony….
Then, Tayu, with more
than twenty layers of kimono, obi, make up, high hilled shoes, parasol bearers,
two representative girl children in front of her, she appeared.
Walking differently (in comparison to Geisha) into the crowded.
As in the past, the ceremony was proving that they are still in the center
of every kind of public curiosity. Several pictures of her were taken
when she was closer to the people, the woman beside Tayu were requesting to
open the way for Tayu to walk. Then again pictures and pictures!
Then we waited her traditional dance.
Two girl children were sitting beside her (again why?), then she started to dance.
While she was preparing for her dance
While she was dancing
After she completed her traditional dance, she was interviewed by TV canals.
Complete ceremony took not more than 45 minutes but it was enough time to see how Tayus' clothes and styles different than that of geishas. But of course it is necessary to investigate Tayus deeply.
Tayu dances can be watched through my album in Flickr:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/128131034@N03/16011083347/
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