Go Figure Felix world of miniature figure modelling : Geisha, Oiran and Tayu

What is the difference between Geisha, Oiran and Tayu?

Geisha (芸者) (/ˈɡeɪʃə/; Japanese: [ɡeːɕaalso known as geiko (芸子) (in Kyoto and Kanazawa) or geigi (芸妓), are female Japanese trained entertainer performing artists and entertainers who is trained in traditional Japanese performing arts styles, such as dance, music, singing and playing an instrument, and otherwise entertaining guests. Their distinct appearance is characterised by long, trailing kimono, traditional hairstyles and oshiroi make-up. Geisha entertain at parties known as ozashiki, often for the entertainment of wealthy clientele, as well as performing on stage and at festivals.

Although not primarily prostitutes, some did sleep with clients and many retired by becoming the mistress of a client, or sponsored by one or more, and so forth.

Oiran (花魁) is a collective term for the highest-ranking courtesans in Japanese history, who were considered to be above common prostitutes (known as yūjo (遊女, lit. 'woman of pleasure')) for their more refined entertainment skills and training in the traditional arts who was very popular and highly regarded, mostly for her beauty, in the brothels of Yoshiwara in Edo (Tokyo). In the Edo period, prostitution conducted in specified areas, called yuukaku (遊郭), like Yoshiwara and was legal. A regular Yoshiwara prostitute was called a yuujo (遊女) which means “play woman.” (Other types of prostitutes had other names.) An oiran was like the pinup girl of Edo—many of the bijin-ga (pictures of beautiful women) that exist as woodcut prints are of oiran.

There are no oiran left in modern Japan since prostitution is illegal now. There are some borderline almost prostitution businesses around, but the women who work in them are not called oiran or yuujo.

Tayū (太夫) Divided into a number of ranks within oiran category, the highest rank of oiran were the tayū (太夫) , who were considered to be set apart from other oiran due to their intensive training in the Japanese traditional arts in tea ceremony, kodo, ikebana, Japanese calligraphy, poetry, dance, singing, and the playing of traditional instruments, such as the koto. The fact that they lived and worked in Kyoto, the political capital of Japan, which remained the cultural heart of the country when the seat of political power moved to Tokyo. Though oiran by definition also engaged in prostitution, higher-ranking oiran had a degree of choice in which customers they took.

The prestige this education conferred on them allowed them to refuse clients. They were the only entertainers to attend the Imperial banquets.

Some picture references on Oiran: