Oiran, Handicrafts Crowded Behind the Lamps: The Scale of Dingo-ya and the Omise (Edo Period)

Oiran, Handicrafts Crowded Behind the Lamps: The Scale of Dingo-ya and the Omise (Edo Period)

The Dingo-ya in Edomachi 2-chome was one of the largest in Yoshiwara, with more than 60 prostitutes, including four oiran (courtesans). The Omise was not merely a place where opulent oiran entertained customers, but also a huge work site where a wide variety of tasks such as cooking, serving customers, managing costumes, and preparing the tatami room were performed in an organized manner. The kitchen scene depicted in the illustration of Choko-ya shows that cooking was an important element in determining the quality of the entertainment and the prestige of the establishment, and clearly conveys the reality that the backstage handiwork supported the reputation of the establishment.

At that time, Edo developed as a huge city with a population of one million, and the banquet culture and demand for eating out rapidly increased. In order to meet the demand for entertainment in the city, the Omise in Yoshiwara established a management system in which food and service were closely linked to each other, and established the entertainment industry as a comprehensive service industry. The oiran (courtesans) symbolized a high level of prestige as the face of the establishment, but behind them existed a multilayered group of professionals, including the banto, maidservants, cooks, and menial laborers, and efficient operation was realized through the division of roles and the management of flow lines.

Thus, the Omise, represented by the chokoiya, was a huge organization supported by practical and economic rationality, apart from the surface layer of glamorous entertainment, and played a part in the advanced service industry in Edo urban society.