Kyoto Shimabara and the Customs of the Town - Dignity of the Capital and Amusement Culture (Edo Period)

Kyoto Shimabara and the Customs of the Town - Dignity of the Capital and Amusement Culture (Edo Period)

The Shimabara amusement quarters in Kyoto were originally established in Rokujo Sanjimachi in Keicho 17, and later moved to Shimabara, where they acquired their name. Its location near the Imperial Palace made Shimabara a more prestigious place than a mere entertainment district, and it was ranked alongside Yoshiwara in Edo (Tokyo) and Shinmachi in Osaka (Osaka). While Edo symbolized the order of the shogunate and Osaka embodied the vitality of a mercantile city, Shimabara was unique in that it had its own dignity against the backdrop of the traditional culture of the "capital.

The prostitutes who worked in Shimabara were not mere providers of entertainment, but were also skilled in such arts as waka, haikai, tea ceremony, and dance, and became bearers of the culture of the townspeople through their interactions with people of culture. Among them, the famous geisha Yoshinotayu was widely known for her combination of culture and beauty, and cultural figures, warriors, and court nobles flocked to Shimabara to admire her. Yoshinotayu elevated Shimabara to a kind of cultural salon, and her presence had an impact on Kyoto culture itself that went beyond the brothels.

Shimabara's fairs were built with a high respect for formality, and the elegant performances and banquets held by prostitutes added a metropolitan flair to the urban landscape. Shimabara thus developed as a place where entertainment and culture were combined, and became a typical example of the diversity of urban customs in the Edo period.