Are Oiran and Tayuu “The Queen of Geisha”?
Certainly not! Oiran and Tayuu were the highest class of courtesans, or, to put it bluntly, the highest rank in the hierarchy of prostitution in the pleasure quarters. They were not Geisha, nor were Geisha Oiran or Tayuu. Geisha used to work along side Oiran and Tayuu though, entertaining in a conversational manner and also dancing, singing and playing music. They were not allowed to compete with the Oiran or Tayuu for their customers, and many strict sumptuary regulations were placed on them to enforce this. After the prostitution laws came into place, there was one Tayuu house that remained open, to serve as a museum and to preserve the artistic and cultural elements of the Tayuu lifestyle. This particular house is called the Wachigaiya, located in the Shimabara hanamachi. Some of the women who took on the lifestyle of a modern day Tayuu (technically, “actresses” who mimic the life of a Tayuu minus the sexual aspect of it) could possibly have been geisha previously who,. in addition
