Tayū
{{see also|Oiran}}
{{Short description|Highest class of traditional female performer in Japan}}
{{italic title}}
File:Furisode tayuu.jpg}} in the Shimabara district of Kyoto]]
{{nihongo||太夫|Tayū}} were the highest rank of female entertainers in early modern Japanese licensed quarters. {{transliteration|ja|Tayū}} were distinguished historically from other courtesans (yūjo; women of pleasure) and entertainers (Maiko, Geisha/Geiko) by their intensive training in numerous traditional artforms from a young age. The prestige this education conferred on them allowed them to refuse clients.{{cite book |last1=Seigle |first1=Cecilia Segawa |title=Yoshiwara: The Glittering World of the Japanese Courtesan |date=1993 |publisher=University of Hawaii Press |isbn=9780824814885 |url=https://archive.org/details/yoshiwaraglitter0000seig |url-access=registration |pages=87 |language=en}}{{Cite book |last=Williams |first=Philip F. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2XDYEgDWtCcC |title=Asian Literary Voices: From Marginal to Mainstream |date=2010 |publisher=Amsterdam University Press |isbn=978-90-8964-092-5 |pages=23–25 |language=en}} They were the only entertainers to attend the Imperial banquets.
{{transliteration|ja|Tayū}} were known for their training in Japanese tea ceremony, {{transliteration|ja|kōdō}}, {{transliteration|ja|ikebana}}, Japanese calligraphy, poetry, dance, singing, and the playing of traditional instruments, such as the {{transliteration|ja|koto}}.
History
{{transliteration|ja|Tayū}} differed from lower ranks of oiran by the social class of their customers and the services they offer. Traditionally, {{transliteration|ja|tayū}} catered for the uppermost echelons of society, including the nobility and the imperial court. {{transliteration|ja|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 {{transliteration|ja|tayū}} working in Kyoto in the Shimabara district.
After the outlawing of prostitution in 1957
{{transliteration|ja|tayū}} continued practicing the cultural and performing arts traditions of their profession in Shimabara and are considered a "special variety" of geisha.{{cite web |last1=Dalby |first1=Liza |title=newgeisha tayu |url=http://www.lizadalby.com/LD/newgeisha_tayu.html |website=lizadalby.com |publisher=Liza Dalby |access-date=15 November 2020 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20140311203139/http://www.lizadalby.com/LD/newgeisha_tayu.html |archive-date=11 March 2014 }}
The most famous {{transliteration|ja|tayū}} in history was {{nihongo|Yoshino {{transliteration|ja|tayū}}|吉野太夫}}, who lived in the 17th century.{{Cite book |last=Shirane |first=Haruo |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SN72QCVBpVAC |title=Early Modern Japanese Literature: An Anthology, 1600-1900 |date=2008-04-21 |publisher=Columbia University Press |isbn=978-0-231-51614-3 |pages=23–34 |edition=Abridged |language=en}} Trained from the age of 7, she quickly mastered the many arts required to be a {{transliteration|ja|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 {{transliteration|ja|tayū}} to the temple, where a ceremony is held.
Appearance
While entertaining, {{transliteration|ja|tayū}} wear elaborate kimono and hair ornaments weighing more than {{cvt|2|kg}}. Unlike modern-day {{transliteration|ja|oiran}} and geisha, but similarly to some apprentice geisha, they do not use wigs for their traditional hairstyles, but instead use their own hair.
{{transliteration|ja|Tayū}} wear white face makeup and blacken their teeth. {{transliteration|ja|Tayū}} are accompanied by an older female attendant and two {{transliteration|ja|kamuro}} (young girls wearing red livery bearing the {{transliteration|ja|tayū}}'s name).
When outdoors, {{transliteration|ja|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 {{transliteration|ja|tayū}}'s appearance were copied by the {{transliteration|ja|oiran}}, most notably in the {{transliteration|ja|oiran-dōchū}}, a procession where the {{transliteration|ja|oiran}} processes to meet a customer.