#okasan

Birthday present to Okāsan 💕 (Sep, 2020)

•Okāsan, otōsan.•

Day two of inktober

༼ つ ◕◡◕ ༽つ  Geisha-kai on P a t r e o n || Instagram

- kyoukai no rinne 3rd

Book’s cover courtesy of Amazon Japan 祇園 - 粋な遊びの世界 (Gion - Sui Na Asobi No Sekai) - Gion - The World of Stylish Parties Published By Tankōsha (淡交社) (ISBN 4-473-01399-5) Date of Publication: 1995 Language: Japanese Format: Softcover Availability: Very Rare, Yet Can Be Found Quite Cheaply On Amazon Japan Price: $30 Including Shipping Outside of Japan Errors: 0 This is a very, very interesting book. Until I happened to come upon it by random chance I had never actually heard of this book before and I couldn’t find much information on it at all, so everything I know about this book has come from reading it. But, wow, what a hidden treasure! First off, I have to mention that there’s no author listed anywhere in the book - only a publisher, which is quite rare when it comes to books. Since this book does feature many small essays you’d think that there would be at least the name of the person(s) who put this all together, but it doesn’t. It also doesn’t even give the name of the photographer whose pictures are featured throughout the book, but it’s quickly made obvious that the images are from Hiroshi Mizobuchi! Having his amazing images just added a cherry on top of this already fantastic book.So, the best way to explain this book is to break it down by sections, and it looks something like this: Introduction: Scenes of Gion Kobu including maiko, wagasa, and more maiko. The introduction text “Gion No Onnatachi” (祇園の女たち) which translates (roughly) as “The Women of Gion” is written by someone named Sugimoto Sonoko (杉本苑子). She just gives a small blurb about growing up in the karyukai and some various terms that are used. Part 1 - Crash Course: I really couldn’t think of a better term to describe this part as it’s a very quick introduction that throws a multitude of information at you and then expects you to remember it for the rest of the entire book. If you’re already a karyukai fan then you’ll already be acquainted with these words. For example, the first page shows a kamiyui finishing a maiko’s ofuku hairstyle with comments including that a maiko uses her own hair and that this kamiyui can complete the hairstyle in 20 (!) minutes. Underneath it shows the various combs used by maiko and geiko for their hair and their katsura, the bira ogi used by maiko, the maezashi, and the ofuku tegara. It’s pretty awesome that it even mentions the little pin that keeps the ofuku style together that it refers to as a “yobareru pin.” This is something I haven’t actually added to the anatomy page yet as it can be hard to get a picture where the often small pin is clearly visible. It then goes to dance practice at the nyokoba and shows maiko and geiko practicing on stage for the Miyako Odori, the list of teachers that can be found outside of the building, and some instruments backstage that include a few racks full of shamisen and some tsuzumi. There’s then the obligatory maiko kanzashi calendar and a simple overview of the maiko hairstyles  Part 2 - Night (their title, not mine): We’re shown images of maiko and geiko putting on make up at various stages, a maiko leaving her okiya, and the inside of an ochaya. This part gets really awesome as you may recognize the names of the people contributing before I even explain who they are. First, we have “Ochaya No Sekai” (お茶屋の世界) - The World of Ochaya by Obara Genichirō (小原源一郎), who traces the history of ochaya from the Early Edo Period to the (almost) present day. On the next page we have “Kyōmai Inoue Ryū” (京舞井上流) by Inoue Michiko (井上三千子), who you now know as Yachiyo Inoue V. Her introduction is on the Inoue School of Dance taught in Gion Kobu, which is followed by images of maiko dancing at ozashiki. On the next two pages there’s even some information about restaurants and how they choose their cuisine! The two restaurants featured are Hamasaku (浜作) and Kawakami (川上). Before we get to the next essay we get to see various images of the main maiko model for this book - Mameryō (豆涼)! Yes, the very same Mameryō who is currently a natori geiko. The next essay is called “Sui To Sui Kankei” (酔と粋関係) - Relationship Between Drinking and Style by Fujimoto Yoshikazu (藤本義一). We get a few more nice pictures and then another essay by Obara Genichirō (小原源一郎) called “Natsukashii - Zakone To Mirare” (懷かしい-雑魚寝と見られ) meaning “Nostalgia - Sleeping Together and Being Seen” (if you can do better then please send it in lol). He then continues into another essay about asobi. Next, Yamakawa Shizuo (山川静夫) speaks about Bunraku in “Gion No Shibai” (祇園の居園) - The Garden of Gion. The last essay in this part is by Nakamura Kichiemon (中村吉右衛門) and it’s called “Watashi To Gion” (私と祇園) which is “Myself and Gion.” Part 3 - Calendar: It follows the calendar of Gion Kobu events throughout the year beginning with Shigyoshiki, Hatsuyori, Setsubun/Obake, Oishiki, and the Miyako Odori. There’s a small history part on the Miyako Odori complete with images from the early 1900s all the way through to the present. It continues on with Miyabikai, Gion Matsuri, Hassaku (Full color Mamezuru as a maiko!), Onshukai, Jidai Matsuri, Kanikakunisai, Kaomise Soken, Koto Hajime, and it’s finished off with Okotosan and Okerabi. Part 4 - Art: It’s literally called “Maiko No Meiga” (舞妓の名画) - Maiko Paintings. Our good buddy Obara Genichirō (小原源一郎) does this section too as he highlights famous artists who have painted maiko. Tacked on to this is a one page essay about Romance called “Bakumatsu Shishi Tachi No Romansu” (幕末志士たちのロマンス) - End of The Edo Period Romance by Takano Kiyoshi (高野澄). It’s finished off with “Natsukashi No Arubamu” (懐かしのアルバム) - The Album of Nostalgia, a picture album and history of two of Gion Kobu’s geimaiko who were active before World War II - Okuyama Hatsuko (奥山はつ子) - Hatsuko (はつ子) and Iwai Sueko (岩井末子) - Kosue (小末), which is told once again by our buddy Obara Genichirō (小原源一郎). Part 5 - The People of Gion: The last main section, it features interviews with people who live and work within the karyukai. They include previous owner of the Ichiriki Sugiura Akira (杉浦翠), super legendary geiko Takeha (竹葉), was a maiko and is now a natori geiko Mameryō (豆涼), the day to day operations of Shibata (柴田), an otokoshi, a kamiyui, and a tea ceremony teacher. This section also includes women who are owners of ochaya, okiya, or their own bar. They include Kaida (Takae), Fumiyo, Teruko, Tama (Tamakazu), Katsukinu, Takako, Yoshiuta, Senko, Tsurui (Yoshiju), Odamoto (Katsuji), Fujitoku, and, for some unknown reason, Mamezuru. Honestly, the best part is the infogram tacked on at the end - the sign language of dance! It shows how each basic kana can be represented as a kata and I’ve honestly never seen anything like this before. For example, Touching your left wrist with your right index finger is te (て) and pinching an ear lobe is mi (み). Te (手) means “Hand” and Mi refers to Mimi (耳) which is “Ear.” There’s then a glossary of many terms used in this book, a quick blurb about the other four kagai and a map of Gion Kobu with all ochaya marked. This book may seem long as I tried to be detailed, but it’s very interesting and so well done. It’s a treasure for people who can read Japanese and simply a colorful delight for those who can’t. I have to wonder how or why this book is never mentioned as it really is great, but it may be due to its age. Either way, it’s fantastic ^^ Rating: ✪✪✪✪✪ (out of 5)