This is going to be a long answer, and I’m going to try to be as impartial as I can as this is still a highly debated subject.



First of all, I do not wish to give any attention to the person who’s having a tantrum on Instagram. They’re not very respected in the community and they tend to have rants like these often, so I usually ignore them as they are not worth my time.



Secondly, I need to go over the extreme basics of tayū, as what’s being debated is ultimately an issue of semantics. So, we all know that tayū were the highest class of “courtesan” from the Edo Period. They wore incredibly gaudy clothing with ornate hairstyles and were available only to the elites. No one is denying this. Yes, they also had “sexy times” with their “customers” but it was (usually) not the main component of their job. They were supposed to function as a woman who could be the complete opposite of a wife; that is, be skilled in various arts and be able to hold a conversation/attention well.



The tayū themselves were already a dying breed of entertainer by the 18th century as their exclusivity and faded fashions could not even come close to matching the extremely popular geisha. So, from the mid 1750s tayū had basically ceased to exist everywhere except for Shimabara in Kyoto. Over the centuries their numbers have gone down as their skills and knowledge were seen as archaic to modern society even back then. What really marked the literal end for the tayū was the outlawing of prostitution in 1958. Since tayū were considered courtesans and technically the sexy stuff was part of their trade (although, not the main focus), they were forbidden from actually “being” tayū anymore. What’s more, there’s only one “registered” ochaya in Shimabara anymore, the 300 year old Wachigaya.



For the last few (and by “few” I mean “5ish”) decades all of the tayū have come from the Wachigaya since the Wachigaya was the only building around in Shimabara with a history of hosting tayū. Even as recent as the 1980s the tayū of Shimabara participated in the all-kagai dance performance that takes place in June. Today that’s called the Miyako No Nigiwai and it celebrates the dance styles of the gokagai (five flower towns). Previously this was known as the rokkagai (six flower towns) as Shimabara still operated a kenban and the tayū were well practiced artists.



As you can guess by now, Shimabara has since lost its status as a kagai, no longer has a kenban, and thus no longer has any type of registration. The only thing that’s kept the Wachigaya going is that it’s incredibly old and still somewhat functions as an ochaya, albeit very exclusive.



The biggest issue here that isn’t being addressed by anyone right now is what exactly constitutes a tayū and what doesn’t and, most importantly, who gets to be a tayū and who doesn’t. According to said Instagram drama queen, only women affiliated with the Wachigaya can be tayū. However (and, of course, there’s always an “however” in there somewhere), what happens when the Wachigaya says “no”? You’d figure that the last place where tayū can supposedly exist would want to promote their lineage and keep it going, right? Well, this is where the issue of who’s a “real” tayū and who isn’t comes into play, and, of course, it’s full of drama.



Tsukasa Tayū began her career in Kyoto by becoming a maiko in Gion Kobu. She then left to go to Shimabara to become a tayū at the Wachigaya. For decades she worked at the Wachigaya and even had her biological daughter learn the traditional arts and stand in as her kamuro (attendant) during parades. This was all fine and well until a few years ago when Tsukasa wanted her daughter to debut as a tayū too. You’d figure with her actual experience and pedigree that she’d a perfect candidate to become a tayū. Well, the Wachigaya said “no” and, being determined to carry on, Tsukasa split with the Wachigaya to allow her daughter to debut as a tayū. Her daughter is now Aoi Tayū.



At the same time Takasago Tayū, who has since retired and owns her own ochaya, found a very promising girl that showed real dedication to the tayū life. Once again, the Wachigaya said “no” and, to allow her to debut, she funded her entire debut herself because of her convictions. That girl is now Kikugawa Tayū. Unlike some of the other tayū Kikugawa sometimes wears a wig as she has naturally thin hair.



As a way to show that they’re the perceived “true” authority on tayū, the Wachigaya also debuted a new girl, the now Sakuragi Tayū.



So, we now have three separate places that are supporting what they feel is tayū culture. The Instagram whiner says that Tsukasa, Aoi, and Kikugawa aren’t “real” tayū because they are not affiliated with the Wachigaya. However, she enjoys glossing over the fact that the Wachigaya has used many “stand ins” for their parades over the years due to declining numbers. That is, they have women known to them dress up as tayū and act the part of a tayū for public ceremonies. She also states that the outfits that they wear are synthetic fibers, which is ridiculous. This ignorant person feels that the outfits that Tsukasa, Aoi, and Kikugawa are “fake” because she knows nothing of real silk and ignores that the Wachigaya does use kimono that are over 100 years old (many are in disrepair if you look through various images though), whereas Tsukasa, Aoi, and Kikugawa wear newer made garments. Yes, the way that silk is made and used has changed greatly in the last century, but that doesn’t mean that it isn’t “real” or of the highest quality. In fact, we’ve gotten better at silk production and the silk we use today is stronger, retains colors longer, and uses artistic techniques that could only have been considered a dream a century ago.



And, thus, we’ve come around full circle. The question at the center of this being, “Who decides who gets to be a tayū when there is no longer any institution who says what is and isn’t and who can and cannot?” The tayū have long since been resigned to a ceremonial role, no one can deny that. But, if the Wachigaya truly wants the tayū to survive, then why would they deny promising candidates? It took a vast amount of money and connections to launch new tayū who are practicing the tayū arts from the same teachers, so why should they not be called tayū too? I personally do not wish to join into this useless debate that benefits no one, but I believe that an artist is an artist and if they meet the requirements of that trade then they deserve to be called such.