What is Oiran?
[[File:鈴木 春信 - 風流艶色真似ゑもん 12.jpg|thumb|250px|An oiran with a client and apprentice, [[ukiyo-e]] [[painting]] by Suzuki Haronubu (1765)]] {{nihongo|'''''Oiran'''''|花魁}} were [[courtesans]] in [[Japan]]. Oiran were part of Japanese society during the [[History of Japan#Edo period|Edo period]], (1600–1868). [[Prostitution]] was legal then, but only in special [[neighborhood]]s that were closed to outsiders. There were different kinds of oiran, depending on their [[beauty]], [[skill]]s in art, education, and more. High-ranking oiran were called {{nihongo|'''''tayū'''''|太夫}}. Only [[nobility|nobles]] could be with one. Tayū had many [[servant]]s, and when they went outside, their servants carried them and followed them, making a [[procession]]. They wore very [[wikt:expensive|expensive]] [[clothing|clothes]] and [[jewelry]]. Any man who wished to be with an oiran had to follow difficult [[ritual]]s and [[etiquette]]. [[Geisha]] replaced oiran. Geisha practiced common types of [[entertainment]] enjoyed by the people of that time. They became more popular than oiran. The last known oiran was in 1761. A few women still practice the arts of the oiran today (without sex) to continue the [[culture|cultural]] heritage. == Other websites == *[http://www.auelib.aichi-edu.ac.jp/lib/postcards/Tayu.html Tayu no Dochu] *[http://www.city.tsubame.niigata.jp/kankou/event/od_66th.html Niigata Prefecture Bunsui Sakura Festival Oiran Parade] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080113151945/http://www.city.tsubame.niigata.jp/kankou/event/od_66th.html |date=2008-01-13 }} {{biography-stub}} [[Category:Personal service occupations]] [[Category:Japanese culture]] [[Category:Prostitution]] [[Category:Japanese people by occupation|*]]