Utako Hanazono (January 1905
– 1982) was a Japanese writer,
modern dancer, geisha and a Japanese traditional dance master by the name of Tamae Hanazono at her later years.
Biography
Hanazono was born in January 1905, educated at the Tokyo Women's Pharmaceutical School (a predecessor to
Meiji Pharmaceutical University
is a private university in Kiyose, Tokyo, 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 Ja ...
), and started working as a clerk at a pharmaceutical company before joining a leftist theater led by Shunkichi Kurose, her future husband. Hanazono's real name by marriage was who practiced then top notch modern dance at that troop,
and joined a burlesque studio in
Asakusa
is a district in Taitō, Tokyo, Japan. It is known as the location of the Sensō-ji, a Buddhist temple dedicated to the bodhisattva Kannon. There are several other temples in Asakusa, as well as various festivals, such as the .
History
The ...
.
It was in
Shinbashi
, sometimes transliterated Shimbashi, is a district of Minato, Tokyo, Japan.
Name
Read literally, the characters in Shinbashi mean "new bridge".
History
The area was the site of a bridge built across the Shiodome River in 1604. The river was la ...
where Hanazono started as a
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 ...
, soon to become popular as a ''modern geisha'', a person with the background of modern dance.
While she was hired at a geisha dispatch house under an
indentured contract, Hanazono stayed with that house even after her tenure had expired.
She publicly criticized the Japanese government in the 1920s and 1930s for preventing geisha to take on other professions in order to earn a living. In her book "Geigitsū" Hanazono annoyed leading women's right activists
Fukuda Hideko
Fukuda Hideko (福田 英子, October 5, 1865 – May 2, 1927) was a Japanese author, educator and feminist of the Meiji period in Japan. Born Kageyama Hideko, she was educated at a young age and pursued socialist and feminist goals for most o ...
as well as
Wakamatsu Shizuko
was an educator, translator, and novelist best known for translating ''Little Lord Fauntleroy'' written by Frances Hodgson Burnett. She is also known for introducing literature with Christianity for children's novels.
Early life
Born to Kats ...
by pointing out that many geisha were forced to turn to sex work in order to survive because of this law.
She also challenged the social discrimination faced by geisha due to ancient social traditions and customs that they were still required to observe, including customary indentured servitude which had been bound with advance debt contracts.
As a renowned book collector for the theme of geigi,
Hanazono joined the Meiji Culture Study Group
ja.html" ;"title=":ja:明治文化研究会.html" ;"title="/small>:ja:明治文化研究会">ja">:ja:明治文化研究会.html" ;"title="/small>:ja:明治文化研究会">ja/small>rakugo
is a form of ''yose'', which is itself a form of Japanese verbal entertainment. The lone sits on a raised platform, a . Using only a and a as props, and without standing up from the seiza sitting position, the rakugo artist depicts a long ...
'' and ''yose'' Japanese vaudeville.
In her latter years, she founded her own school of Hanazono of traditional Japanese dance, named herself their first ''Iemoto'' or the head master, with the name of Tamae Hanazono.
Bibliography
* "Geigitsū", Tōkyō: Shiroku Shoin, 1930. Vol.29, Tsū Sōsho Series, .
** Reprint
"Geigitsu" Kora, Rumiko ; Iwami, Teruyo (eds.), Yumani Shobo, 2004. Vol.II (Josei no mita kindai series), No. 4, Josei to rodo. , .
* "Onna kara ningen e — Josei bunka kenkyū shiryō ichiran"
rom Woman to Human-being: List of Materials on Women's Culture Research Tokyo : Ōsawa Tadashi, 1931.
Notes
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hanazono, Utako
1905 births
1982 deaths
20th-century Japanese women writers
Geishas
Japanese female dancers
Japanese dancers
Japanese women's rights activists
Modern dancers