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[[Image:Agemaki.JPG|right|thumb|300px|Mannequins of the courtesan Agemaki and her ''kamuro'' (child attendant) from the [[kabuki]] play ''[[Sukeroku]]''.]]
[[Image:Kaigetsudo Dohan - bijin2.jpg|right|thumb|284px|A ''[[bijinga]]'' painting of a courtesan by [[Kaigetsudo Dohan|Kaigetsudô Dôhan]].]]
*''Japanese'': 遊女 ''(yuujo)'', 女郎 ''(jorou)'', 花魁 ''(oiran)''
Courtesans of [[Edo period]] Japan, known by a variety of Japanese terms including ''yûjo'' and ''jorô'', were more than simple prostitutes. They were experts in dance, music, conversation, and other entertainments, and those who operated within the licensed quarters, such as the [[Yoshiwara]] in [[Edo]], [[Shimabara (Kyoto)|Shimabara]] in [[Kyoto]], [[Shinmachi]] in [[Osaka]], [[Maruyama]] in [[Nagasaki]], and in [[Furuichi]] near [[Ise]], had a complex system of ranks, etiquette, and procedures. At the time of the Yoshiwara's cultural height, prior to 1750 or so, only the most ''[[tsu|tsû]]'', that is, those with the greatest cultural capital, could secure an appointment with the top courtesans; even then, few could afford it, as the prices for a night with even a middling-ranking courtesan were quite expensive, serving as the source of income not only for the courtesan one was hiring, but for her entire entourage (i.e. attendants, younger courtesans-in-training) as well.
Select classes of courtesans in Nagasaki's Maruyama district were dedicated to serving either the [[tojin yashiki|Chinese districts]], or the [[VOC|Dutch]] settlement on [[Dejima]]. Courtesans were, along with officials on official business, among the only Japanese permitted to enter Dejima, and were allowed to remain there overnight; courtesans serving the Chinese districts, however, were not permitted to remain in those districts overnight.
Guides called ''[[hyobanki|hyôbanki]]'' were regularly published, usually on the occasion of the new year, containing rankings and critiques of the courtesans of a given district for the previous year.
==Ranks in the Yoshiwara==
===Prior to 1750===
*'''Tayû''' (太夫) - the top rank of courtesans. Obtaining the "services" of a ''tayû'' required, first, a lengthy set of procedures and rituals, including a recommendation letter from one of the Yoshiwara teahouses, and an application submitted to the ''ageya'' (揚屋, house of assignation) to which that ''tayû'' belonged. Even after one's application was accepted, one would meet with the ''tayû'' and her entourage three times, paying a hefty fee each time, and engaging in a ritual exchange or ceremonial performance, and only after that, if the ''tayû'' chose to go further with the client, would one be able to enjoy the services of the ''tayû'' in question. Being rejected by a ''tayû'' was quite common, even expected, and competitions for the affection of a given ''tayû'' were quite common.
*'''Kôshi''' (格子, lit. "lattice") - the second rank of Yoshiwara courtesans. Obtaining the services of a ''kôshi'' required a set of procedures similar to that of requesting a ''tayû'', though less lengthy or difficult. A prospective client needed a letter of recommendation from a Yoshiwara teahouse, and would submit an application to the ''ageya'', just as when requesting a ''tayû''. However, the ''kôshi'' and her attendants would meet with the client only once, not three times, before deciding whether to take him on as a client. The ritual exchange was far less complex, and the cost roughly half that of a ''tayû''. Rejections from a ''kôshi'' were less typical, and once one was accepted by a ''kôshi'', one could proposition her services directly, at the latticed front room of her brothel.
*'''Tsubone''' (局) were lesser-ranking courtesans, costing roughly 1/10th the price of a ''kôshi''. They had no power to reject customers, and required no special application process, but simply sat on display in the latticed front-room of a brothel, waiting for customers. Each ''tsubone'', however, had a room set aside for their (and their clients') use.
*'''Hashi''' (端) were the lowest-ranking courtesans, costing roughly 1/3rd the price of a ''tsubone'', or 1/30th that of a ''kôshi''. Like the ''tsubone'', they had no application process, and no power to reject customers, but sat on display in the latticed front room, and accepted whichever customers chose them. Unlike the ''tsubone'', however, they had to borrow or rent rooms in which to entertain their customers.
==Ranks after 1750==
The [[Kyoho Famine|Kyôhô Famine]], which began in [[1732]], had a profound effect on a myriad aspects of Japanese society; this, combined with a variety of other developments, led to the decline of the ''tayû'', and of the complex rituals and procedures of the earlier period of the Yoshiwara. The 1750s-1760s then saw the rise of a new system and hierarchy centered around the ''oiran'', members of the top three ranks in a new hierarchy, who developed out of the position of teahouse waitresses called ''[[sancha]]''.
*'''Oiran''' (花魁) - any courtesan of the top three ranks, ''yobidashi chûsan'', ''chûsan'', or ''tsukemawashi''. An ''oiran'' had two ''shinzô'' (courtesans-in-training), and two ''kamuro'' (child or adolescent attendants) in her entourage.
*'''Yobidashi chûsan''' (呼出昼三, lit. "a ''chûsan'' called-out, summoned") - the top courtesan rank in the new hierarchy. A client seeking the services of a ''yobidashi chûsan'' would be required to make an appointment ahead of time at the teahouse. A ''yobidashi chûsan'' cost roughly the same amount as a ''kôshi'' in the old system.
*'''Chûsan''' (昼三) who were not ''yobidashi'' could be hired without a private appointment, but cost the same as the ''yobidashi chûsan''. Unlike the ''yobidashi'', they sat in the latticed front room of the teahouse, on display.
*'''Tsukemawashi''' (付け廻し) were the lowest-ranking ''oiran'', requiring no appointment, and costing slightly less than hiring a ''chûsan''.
*'''Zashikimochi''' (座敷持, lit. "chamber-holding") were courtesans below the rank of ''oiran'' who possessed a small apartment where they could entertain clients. They typically had one or two ''shinzô'' and one or two ''kamuro''. A visit with a ''zashikimochi'' could cost half as much as a ''tsukemawashi'', or sometimes just as much.
*'''Heyamochi''' (部屋持, lit. "room-holding") were courtesans below the rank of ''zashikimochi'', who possessed a single room in which to entertain clients. They typically had no attendants. A visit with a ''heyamochi'' could cost half as much, up to just as much, as an inexpensive ''zashikimochi''.
*'''Shinzô''' (新造, lit. "newly made") were teenage courtesans-in-training, who usually served as attendants to higher-ranking courtesans. Though prior to [[1761]] ''shinzô'' attendants to ''tayû'' were forbidden from engaging in sexual relations with clients, after that year, they began to serve clients themselves. A visit with a ''shinzô'' could cost roughly the same as with an inexpensive ''heyamochi''.
{{stub}}
==References==
*"[http://shunga.honolulumuseum.org/index.php?page=1 Arts of the Bedchamber: Japanese Shunga]." Honolulu Museum of Arts, Exhibition Website. Accessed 10 December 2012.
[[Category:Women]]
[[Category:Edo Period]]
[[Image:Kaigetsudo Dohan - bijin2.jpg|right|thumb|284px|A ''[[bijinga]]'' painting of a courtesan by [[Kaigetsudo Dohan|Kaigetsudô Dôhan]].]]
*''Japanese'': 遊女 ''(yuujo)'', 女郎 ''(jorou)'', 花魁 ''(oiran)''
Courtesans of [[Edo period]] Japan, known by a variety of Japanese terms including ''yûjo'' and ''jorô'', were more than simple prostitutes. They were experts in dance, music, conversation, and other entertainments, and those who operated within the licensed quarters, such as the [[Yoshiwara]] in [[Edo]], [[Shimabara (Kyoto)|Shimabara]] in [[Kyoto]], [[Shinmachi]] in [[Osaka]], [[Maruyama]] in [[Nagasaki]], and in [[Furuichi]] near [[Ise]], had a complex system of ranks, etiquette, and procedures. At the time of the Yoshiwara's cultural height, prior to 1750 or so, only the most ''[[tsu|tsû]]'', that is, those with the greatest cultural capital, could secure an appointment with the top courtesans; even then, few could afford it, as the prices for a night with even a middling-ranking courtesan were quite expensive, serving as the source of income not only for the courtesan one was hiring, but for her entire entourage (i.e. attendants, younger courtesans-in-training) as well.
Select classes of courtesans in Nagasaki's Maruyama district were dedicated to serving either the [[tojin yashiki|Chinese districts]], or the [[VOC|Dutch]] settlement on [[Dejima]]. Courtesans were, along with officials on official business, among the only Japanese permitted to enter Dejima, and were allowed to remain there overnight; courtesans serving the Chinese districts, however, were not permitted to remain in those districts overnight.
Guides called ''[[hyobanki|hyôbanki]]'' were regularly published, usually on the occasion of the new year, containing rankings and critiques of the courtesans of a given district for the previous year.
==Ranks in the Yoshiwara==
===Prior to 1750===
*'''Tayû''' (太夫) - the top rank of courtesans. Obtaining the "services" of a ''tayû'' required, first, a lengthy set of procedures and rituals, including a recommendation letter from one of the Yoshiwara teahouses, and an application submitted to the ''ageya'' (揚屋, house of assignation) to which that ''tayû'' belonged. Even after one's application was accepted, one would meet with the ''tayû'' and her entourage three times, paying a hefty fee each time, and engaging in a ritual exchange or ceremonial performance, and only after that, if the ''tayû'' chose to go further with the client, would one be able to enjoy the services of the ''tayû'' in question. Being rejected by a ''tayû'' was quite common, even expected, and competitions for the affection of a given ''tayû'' were quite common.
*'''Kôshi''' (格子, lit. "lattice") - the second rank of Yoshiwara courtesans. Obtaining the services of a ''kôshi'' required a set of procedures similar to that of requesting a ''tayû'', though less lengthy or difficult. A prospective client needed a letter of recommendation from a Yoshiwara teahouse, and would submit an application to the ''ageya'', just as when requesting a ''tayû''. However, the ''kôshi'' and her attendants would meet with the client only once, not three times, before deciding whether to take him on as a client. The ritual exchange was far less complex, and the cost roughly half that of a ''tayû''. Rejections from a ''kôshi'' were less typical, and once one was accepted by a ''kôshi'', one could proposition her services directly, at the latticed front room of her brothel.
*'''Tsubone''' (局) were lesser-ranking courtesans, costing roughly 1/10th the price of a ''kôshi''. They had no power to reject customers, and required no special application process, but simply sat on display in the latticed front-room of a brothel, waiting for customers. Each ''tsubone'', however, had a room set aside for their (and their clients') use.
*'''Hashi''' (端) were the lowest-ranking courtesans, costing roughly 1/3rd the price of a ''tsubone'', or 1/30th that of a ''kôshi''. Like the ''tsubone'', they had no application process, and no power to reject customers, but sat on display in the latticed front room, and accepted whichever customers chose them. Unlike the ''tsubone'', however, they had to borrow or rent rooms in which to entertain their customers.
==Ranks after 1750==
The [[Kyoho Famine|Kyôhô Famine]], which began in [[1732]], had a profound effect on a myriad aspects of Japanese society; this, combined with a variety of other developments, led to the decline of the ''tayû'', and of the complex rituals and procedures of the earlier period of the Yoshiwara. The 1750s-1760s then saw the rise of a new system and hierarchy centered around the ''oiran'', members of the top three ranks in a new hierarchy, who developed out of the position of teahouse waitresses called ''[[sancha]]''.
*'''Oiran''' (花魁) - any courtesan of the top three ranks, ''yobidashi chûsan'', ''chûsan'', or ''tsukemawashi''. An ''oiran'' had two ''shinzô'' (courtesans-in-training), and two ''kamuro'' (child or adolescent attendants) in her entourage.
*'''Yobidashi chûsan''' (呼出昼三, lit. "a ''chûsan'' called-out, summoned") - the top courtesan rank in the new hierarchy. A client seeking the services of a ''yobidashi chûsan'' would be required to make an appointment ahead of time at the teahouse. A ''yobidashi chûsan'' cost roughly the same amount as a ''kôshi'' in the old system.
*'''Chûsan''' (昼三) who were not ''yobidashi'' could be hired without a private appointment, but cost the same as the ''yobidashi chûsan''. Unlike the ''yobidashi'', they sat in the latticed front room of the teahouse, on display.
*'''Tsukemawashi''' (付け廻し) were the lowest-ranking ''oiran'', requiring no appointment, and costing slightly less than hiring a ''chûsan''.
*'''Zashikimochi''' (座敷持, lit. "chamber-holding") were courtesans below the rank of ''oiran'' who possessed a small apartment where they could entertain clients. They typically had one or two ''shinzô'' and one or two ''kamuro''. A visit with a ''zashikimochi'' could cost half as much as a ''tsukemawashi'', or sometimes just as much.
*'''Heyamochi''' (部屋持, lit. "room-holding") were courtesans below the rank of ''zashikimochi'', who possessed a single room in which to entertain clients. They typically had no attendants. A visit with a ''heyamochi'' could cost half as much, up to just as much, as an inexpensive ''zashikimochi''.
*'''Shinzô''' (新造, lit. "newly made") were teenage courtesans-in-training, who usually served as attendants to higher-ranking courtesans. Though prior to [[1761]] ''shinzô'' attendants to ''tayû'' were forbidden from engaging in sexual relations with clients, after that year, they began to serve clients themselves. A visit with a ''shinzô'' could cost roughly the same as with an inexpensive ''heyamochi''.
{{stub}}
==References==
*"[http://shunga.honolulumuseum.org/index.php?page=1 Arts of the Bedchamber: Japanese Shunga]." Honolulu Museum of Arts, Exhibition Website. Accessed 10 December 2012.
[[Category:Women]]
[[Category:Edo Period]]
