Must-visit spots to experience Japanese geisha culture: Kyoto’s famous six hanamachi (geisha districts)!

▲Illustration of a maiko in Kyoto, Japan. (Photo / by reporter Yu Tzu-ju)

Text by Erudite Persistence Club, excerpted from Kyoto: The Truth Behind the Tradition, published by Footprint Culture Press
Translator / Su Wen-shu

Hanamachi with maiko are not limited to Gion.

Among Kyoto’s several hanamachi, the most famous isGion. Travel guides often mention “Gion’s maiko,” and the annual “Miyako Odori” held every April always draws crowds of tourists.

So when people think of maiko, they usually associate them with Gion. However, apart from Gion, other parts of Kyoto also have geisha and maiko. Currently, Kyoto has six hanamachi.

Not to mention anything else, everyone always says Gion, Gion, but strictly speaking, Gion is actually divided into“Gion Kobu” and “Gion Higashi”. These two areas originally developed as the machiya (townspeople's district) west of Yasaka Shrine, and the “Miyako Odori” is held in Gion Kobu, where geisha and maiko learn the Inoue school of dance. As for the area formerly known as “Gion Otomiya” or Gion Higashi, it hosts the “Miyako Gion” event in autumn.

The boundary between Gion Kobu and Gion Higashi is located at the intersection of Shijo-Kawaramachi. The vast areas to the southeast, southwest, and northwest of the intersection belong to Gion Kobu, while the northeast section belongs to Gion Higashi.

Second only to Gion in fame isPontochō, pronounced “Bon-to-cho.” Along this narrow, two-meter-wide street, many tea houses stand in rows. This area was the first reclaimed land along the Kamo River during the Edo period, hence the name comes from the Portuguese words meaning “first” and “point”—“ponto”—and was rendered phonetically into the kanji“先斗” ※.

Kyoto’s oldest hanamachi is said to be“Kamishichiken”, located near Kitano Tenmangu Shrine. During the early Muromachi period, Kitano Tenmangu was destroyed by fire, and leftover wood from its reconstruction was used to build seven teahouses—hence the name “Shichiken” (seven shops). It is close to the birthplace of Nishijin textiles, and fabric merchants have frequented the area since ancient times.

South of Gion Kaburenjo Theatre liesMiyagawa-chō, a district famed for the “Miyako Odori” event. Since ancient times, Kyoto’s literati and artists were said to prefer this more secluded spot.

The sixth hanamachi isShimabara, once the only officially recognized pleasure quarter under the Tokugawa shogunate in Kyoto. In the past, only Yoshiwara in Edo and Shimabara in Kyoto had the highest-ranking courtesans, known as “tayū.” Today, Shimabara still features performances by tayū.

※Note:The correct Portuguese word is “ponta”; why the mispronunciation occurred remains a mystery.

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