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is a district of
Higashiyama-ku is one of the eleven wards in the city of Kyoto, in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. History It was created in 1929 when it was split off from Shimogyō-ku. During the years 1931 to 1976 it also covered the area of present-day Yamashina-ku, which w ...
,
Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ci ...
,
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
, originating as an entertainment district in the
Sengoku period The was a period in History of Japan, Japanese history of near-constant civil war and social upheaval from 1467 to 1615. The Sengoku period was initiated by the Ōnin War in 1467 which collapsed the Feudalism, feudal system of Japan under the ...
, in front of
Yasaka Shrine Kanpei-taisha , once called , is a Shinto shrine in the Gion District of Kyoto, Japan. Situated at the east end of Shijō-dōri (Fourth Avenue), the shrine includes several buildings, including gates, a main hall and a stage. The Yasaka shrine is ...
(Gion Shrine). The district was built to accommodate the needs of travellers and visitors to the shrine. It eventually evolved to become one of the most exclusive and well-known geisha districts in all of Japan. Gion is the Japanese translation (via Chinese ''Qiyuan'') of the Buddhist term
Jetavana Jetavana (Jethawanaramaya or Weluwanaramaya ''buddhist literature'') was one of the most famous of the Buddhist monasteries or viharas in India (present-day Uttar Pradesh). It was the second vihara donated to Gautama Buddha after the Venuvan ...
. The
geisha {{Culture of Japan, Traditions, Geisha {{nihongo, Geisha, 芸者 ({{IPAc-en, ˈ, ɡ, eɪ, ʃ, ə; {{IPA-ja, ɡeːɕa, lang), also known as {{nihongo, , 芸子, geiko (in Kyoto and Kanazawa) or {{nihongo, , 芸妓, geigi, are a class of female ...
in Kyoto do not refer to themselves as geisha, instead using the local term . While the term geisha means "artist" or "person of the arts", the more direct term means essentially "a woman of art".


Divisions

Gion houses two , or geisha districts: and . The two were originally the same district, but split many years ago. Gion Kobu is larger, occupying most of the district including the famous street Hanamikoji, while Gion Higashi is smaller and occupies the northeast corner, centered on its rehearsal hall. Despite the considerable decline in the number of geisha in Gion in the last century, the area is still famous for the preservation of forms of traditional
architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing building ...
and entertainment. Part of this district has been declared a national historical preservation district. The City of Kyoto has undertaken a number of restorative projects to enhance the beauty and historical authenticity of Kyoto's , such as relocating overhead utilities underground. Since 1986, the city has removed electric poles from a number of popular tourist destinations such as Nene no Michi (ねねの道), Hanamikoji (花見小路), and Pontocho (先斗町). File:Gion.jpg, Street in Gion File:Wooden and bamboo facades of dwellings with sudare in a cobbled street of Gion, perspective effect with vanishing point, Kyoto, Japan.jpg, Dwellings with in the street leading to the Gion Tatsumi Bridge File:Kyoto gion01.jpg, Along Shirakawa river File:Shijo-dori Kyoto.jpg, View of Shijo-dori in 1886


Entertainment


Geisha

Gion retains a number of old-style Japanese houses called , which roughly translates to "townhouse", some of which function as , or "teahouses", where geisha entertain guests at parties, involving singing, traditional dance performances, drinking games and conversation. Both geisha and can be seen travelling throughout the district to attend parties, lessons and various other engagements. A number of dressing-up parlors, known as studios, will dress tourists up as or geisha for a fee, allowing them to walk through the streets of Gion and have their photo taken; by law in Kyoto, these tourists are required to dress inaccurately, so as not to impersonate geisha or . Geisha and both perform in public dance events staged yearly, such as the
Miyako Odori The is one of the four great spring shows in the five geisha districts () of Kyoto, Japan. The dances, songs, and theater productions presented in the framework of the Miyako Odori are performed by the (apprentice geisha) and geisha of the Gion ...
; some also perform dances for tourists at Gion Corner.


Other

There are also many modern entertainment establishments in Gion – restaurants, bars, clubs,
pachinko is a mechanical game originating in Japan that is used as an arcade game, and much more frequently for gambling. Pachinko fills a niche in Japanese gambling comparable to that of the slot machine in the West as a form of low-stakes, low-st ...
,
off-track betting Off-track betting (or OTB; in British English, off-course betting) is sanctioned gambling on horse racing outside a race track. U.S. history Before the 1970s, only the state of Nevada allowed off-track betting. Off-track betting in New York was ...
, and a very large number of tourist-oriented establishments, particularly along
Shijō Street runs in the center of Kyoto, Japan from east to west through the commercial center of the city. Shijō literally means ''Fourth Avenue'' of Heian-kyō, the ancient capital. History The section between Shinkyōgoku street and the vicinity ...
; the region is both a major tourist hub, and a popular nightlife spot for locals. Though a number of streets are modern in construction, a number of quieter streets featuring traditional architecture also exist, such as and its environs, ranging from Shijō Street at the north end, anchored by the famous
Ichiriki Tei The , formerly , is an historic ("tea house") in Kyoto, Japan. It is located at the southeast corner of Shijō Street and Hanami Lane, its entrance right at the heart of the Gion Kobu district. It is considered an exclusive and high-end esta ...
, and running south to the major temple of
Kennin-ji is a historic Zen Buddhist temple in Kyoto, Japan, and head temple of its associated branch of Rinzai Buddhism. It is considered to be one of the so-called Kyoto ''Gozan'' or "five most important Zen temples of Kyoto". History Kennin-ji was ...
. The stretch of the
Shirakawa River The is a river in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. The river originates in the foothills of Mount Hiei on the outskirts of Kyoto, through the Geisha district of Gion and eventually ends up in the Kamo River. Its name, which means "white river" in Japane ...
before it enters the
Kamo river The is located in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. The riverbanks are popular walking spots for residents and tourists. In summer, restaurants open balconies looking out to the river. There are walkways running alongside the river, and some stepping ...
is also a popular preserved area. It is lined on the south side with traditional establishments which directly face the river, and some are accessed by crossing bridges from the north side. The north side was previously also lined with buildings, but these were torn down in World War II as a fire-prevention measure, and the section is now primarily a pedestrian street, lined with cherry blossoms. These are lit up in the evening in the spring, and the area is active year-round.


Annual events

The geisha and of Gion both perform annual public dances, as do all five geisha districts in Kyoto. The oldest of these date to the
Kyoto exhibition Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ci ...
of 1872. The more popular of these is the
Miyako Odori The is one of the four great spring shows in the five geisha districts () of Kyoto, Japan. The dances, songs, and theater productions presented in the framework of the Miyako Odori are performed by the (apprentice geisha) and geisha of the Gion ...
, literally "Dances of the Old Capital" (sometimes instead referred to as the "Cherry Blossom Dances"), staged by the geisha of Gion Kobu, which dates to 1872. The dances run from April 1 through April 30 each year during the height of the cherry blossom () season. Spectators from Japan and worldwide attend the events, which range from "cheap" seats on
tatami A is a type of mat used as a flooring material in traditional Japanese-style rooms. Tatamis are made in standard sizes, twice as long as wide, about 0.9 m by 1.8 m depending on the region. In martial arts, tatami are the floor used for traini ...
mats on the floor, to reserved seats with a small
tea ceremony An East Asian tea ceremony, or ''Chádào'' (), or ''Dado'' ( ko, 다도 (茶道)), is a ceremonially ritualized form of making tea (茶 ''cha'') practiced in East Asia by the Chinese, Japanese, and Koreans. The tea ceremony (), literally transla ...
beforehand. Gion Higashi holds a similar dance in early November, around autumn leaves, known as Gion Odori; this is more recent and has fewer performances.


Education

The Kyoto Municipal Board of Education operates public elementary and junior high schools. Gionmachi Kitagawa and Gionmachi Minamigawa are zoned to Kaisei Elementary and Junior High School ( 開睛小中学校).


In popular culture

* Gion is the setting of much of
Arthur Golden Arthur Sulzberger Golden (born December 6, 1956) is an American writer. He is the author of the bestselling novel ''Memoirs of a Geisha'' (1997). Early life Golden was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, the son of Ruth (née Sulzberger) and Ben ...
's novel ''
Memoirs of a Geisha ''Memoirs of a Geisha'' is a historical fiction novel by American author Arthur Golden, published in 1997. The novel, told in first person perspective, tells the story of Nitta Sayuri and the many trials she faces on the path to becoming and wo ...
.'' * Gion Kobu was also where
Mineko Iwasaki , birthname , is a Japanese businesswoman, author and former geisha. Iwasaki was the most famous geisha in Japan until her sudden retirement at the age of 29. Known for her performances for celebrity and royalty during her geisha life, Iwasaki wa ...
lived and conducted business as a geisha, as mentioned in her autobiography '' Geisha of Gion.'' * Gion is the setting of several films by
Kenji Mizoguchi was a Japanese film director and screenwriter, who directed about one hundred films during his career between 1923 and 1956. His most acclaimed works include ''The Story of the Last Chrysanthemums'' (1939), ''The Life of Oharu'' (1952), ''Uget ...
, including: ** 1936 ** 1953 * Part of the Gion area is featured as a photo travel landscape in the 2010 racing video game
Gran Turismo 5 is a 2010 racing video game developed by Polyphony Digital and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was released for the PlayStation 3 on November 24, 2010 in Europe and North America, and November 25, 2010 in Japan and Australasia, and ...
.


See also

*
Kyoto hanamachi A is a district where geisha live and work in Japan. Each typically has its own name, crest, and distinct geisha population, with geisha not typically working outside of their own district. usually contain (geisha houses) and (teahouses wh ...
* Miyagawachō, another district located just south of Gion * Pontochō, another district on west side of Kamo river *
Kamishichiken , pronounced locally as Kamihichiken, is a district of northwest Kyoto, Japan. It is the oldest hanamachi (geisha district) in Kyoto, and is located just east of the Kitano Tenman-gū Shrine. The name Kamishichiken literally means "Seven Upper Hous ...
, the oldest district in Kyoto


Notes


References


External links

* * *
Miyako Odori
{{Authority control Geography of Kyoto Gion faith