A Visit to the Yoshiwara

Konnichiwa minna-san, I hope you enjoyed last week’s blog post by Amethyst-chan. Here is her second piece (well, this is her third blog post to date, and her second in this series). ^_^
-          Okamisan Aisya

A Visit to the Yoshiwara

*Tossing a wooden sandal over the walls over Little Yoshiwara, and trying to climb over the wall in her tight red kimono.  Heaving her body weight as she grunted lifting herself: Ame-chan is trying hard as she sneaks away from her home at the Shinmachi.*

Today, for some reason, she is having this feeling to visit Little Yoshiwara.  

As she came near the ochaya she was greeted with a bow from Sayu-san, a beautiful Geisha of the hanamachi in Little Yoshiwara.  Returning the bow, Ame-chan's eyes moved around the main room as she removed her shoes.  Proceeding in more, she was greeted by Okita-san. 



Bowing, Okita-san waved both of her arms delicately in front of her with a small smile.  She remembered Okita-san from when she was a young minarai; at the time she was learning, too, before she moved over to Shinmachi.  Ame-chan pondered on how she would give her small tips and offer her help on learning about the world of the Geisha.


Ame-chan preceded into the room as she greeted others and then took her position on the cushion.  Wondering what was going on, she waited quietly.

With guests filling the room, Sayu-san and Okita-san came to join the patrons as they served each customer while smiling and bowing.  With the lovely, swishing sound of the rustling kimonos, they slid across the floor when they walked.


With a voice from Geisha Sayu-san, she welcomed the patrons:

"Nice to see you.  Welcome...Oideyasu, it's nice to see so many friends, we have a nice treat for you today, as you know."

"Ikebana is a part of the Japanese tradition of art and design for centuries and it’s been a huge influence in the west for over 100 years.  I’ve had the honor of knowing and being Okita-chan's Oneesan for over a year, and it’s been nothing but good feelings."  Sayu-san smiled as she looked at Okita-san.

Ah.  Smiling, Ame-chan's eyes turned on to Okita san while she was doing her presentation, which was showing Okita-san's explanation about Ikebana.  This is part of the training for the minarai to move up in rank to become maiko, and it was done with so many of minarai here.  In the past, as Ame-chan was training to be a Geisha, she remembered how shy Okita-san was when greeting others and was usually in the back.  

Ame-chan was seeing now how Okita-san flourished by still continuing on her with learning to become a Geisha one day.  She was showing how strong she was with no matter to how hard it is.  Okita-san was able to continue which helps Ame-chan know she is able to continue with her training, too.

A part in the Festivals of the Shinmachi

Konnichiwa minna-san, I hope you enjoyed the series on the Five Elements Festival. We are constantly moving and honing our arts, and are so excited to begin preparations for a small festival occurring in late January for the New Year and Setsubun. And, there are rumors about a new furisode shinzo debuting soon. On a completely unrelated note, hikikomi kamruo Amethyst-chan has been hard at work; she has prepared the next two blog posts. Enjoy ^_^
-          Okamisan Aisya


A part in the festivals of the Shinmachi District



Being in Shinmachi, I keep learning more while mingling with the others here as best as a kamuro can.  I am being careful to not miss out on the events and activities here. Sometimes, it is hard when there is so much to do as well preparing for more events.  How do Okamisan as well as Jinchi san do it? 

*Giggles softly as she thinks of how her Oneesan Tsuyu-san calls her "Jinchi-sensei." She clears and throat and continues*

I was trying to remember something but couldn't think of it; except, I do remember a meeting for the Five Elements festival that was held in October.  This was to be a celebration for Shinmachi’s five years in Second life.  The meeting was to prepare for the festival, during which the Okamisan was announcing the need for help for each element...  Earth...  Fire...  Water...  Wind... and Void. While determining who wanted the parts and signing them up to help out, I  ended up getting sick which caused me to sink into sad, despair of not being able to do a rehearsal for the finale Godai performance: The Elements of the Shinmachi.  This performance was acting out with the story of life within the Shinmachi.


Then, one day my Oneesan mentioned to me that she was going on a trip.  In her absence, I was hoping to take tons of pictures of the Festival since she couldn't be there.  This made me think that maybe I can go to the events, especially since I have been resting each day to regain my strength. 



Okamisan sent out notices saying she still had parts that could be filled, as well as practices. So, I went to talk to her to see if there was anything I could help with. Being the most wonderful Okamisan she is, she let me have a part in the show.  I was just happy to actually do something with my Shinmachi family.

I played two parts during the finale performance: the ‘buyer’ and one of the shinzo.  It made feel so much better that I wasn't so down anymore; the tiny enjoyments are always taken for granted.  This entire event was so fun and a different experience I didn’t get to do yet in Second life.



I caught a glimpse of my big brother Haku-san and Icy-san at the performance, too.  For him to be there and to actually see our group, perform made my day.

Part V: Godai Days

Godai Days
The Festival Comes to an End

We ended the festival with our largest production to date: Elements of Shinmachi. This performance was a fascinating: it went through each of the five elements and how they related to Shinmachi.

Introduction: The intro set of Elements of Shinmachi introduced the audience to each of the godai elements.

This performance focused on music, dance and the interaction on stage among the courtesans and actors. Some introductory narration was used at the beginning of each section to provide some description for the scenes, but the stories in each set were shared via dance. It was a wonderful way to end the festival and I can’t wait until the next one (New Year’s!).




Grounded in Tradition: Two shirabyoshi make their way down a path, one their way to their next courtly performance.







The Water Trade: A buyer and trader haggle over the price of a young girl, brought to the quarter to become a courtesan. She escaped while they argued.







Burning: Jealousy erupts into a battle between two patrons, whom fought over the attentions of a geisha. 






A Want of Wind: A shinzo bids her latest patron farewell, wishing she was able to leave the quarter as well.




A Void Oiran Dochu: The final elemental set featured a void rendition of an oiran dochu. The kamuro, then the shinzo and finally the oiran walked up and danced their part in the dochu.







Finale: We ended the performance with an “everyone on stage” finale dance. The two in pants did a martial arts demonstration mid dance!

Part IV: Void Days

Void Days

Something a Little Different

空 Kū or sora, most often translated as "Void", but also meaning "sky" or "Heaven", is associated with creativity, spontaneity and inventiveness. Our void performances were a little out of the box, blending traditional Japanese dance with highly creative and out of the norm settings and special effects. 

  

Sensei Jinchi-sama produced a larger than life version of her performance: “Metamorphosis.” It was an interesting look at what happens to the world when one falls asleep. I particularly loved the costume changes and the fantastical stage design, pictured below.

Tomesode shinzo Hamayu-chan produced a void version of “The Princess Firefly.” Like “Metamorphosis”, this performance featured costumes change and a change in the stage design. By the end of the performance, Hamayu’s simple outdoor setting had morphed into a fantasy garden, complete with a firefly princess.

Part III: Fire and Wind Days

Fire / Wind Days

New and Old Performances

火 Ka or hi is Fire; associated with energetic beings, it is heat, passion, desire, drive and motivation. Yet it is also security, outgoing nature and, as it often relates to in traditional tales, fear and aggressiveness.  In addition to compassion and benevolence, 風 Fū or kaze (wind) deals with growth, expansion and the capacity to enjoy the freedom of movement.

What better way to represent Ka than with a performance based on the passionate and fiery affair between Kiyohime and the priest? We have shared several renditions of Kiyohime, The Maiden Who Became a Dragon, including two kabuki (Ninin Dojoji, Musume Dojoji) and two simpler performances featuring the text of the fairy tale.

For wind, we went in a completely different direction and produced a new show called Fu, the Wind Spirit. Featuring oiran Kaminari, this performance was an East meets West collaboration between the oiran and actors of Shinmachi and a few of our najimi (top patrons).

Set to the music of “East Meets West – Koto Concerto: Genji” performed by the Orchestra of the Swan, and the highly talented koto musician Yumi Kurosawa, Fu was a mixture of traditional Japanese dance and ballet. This performance focused on the tale of the wind spirit’s joy of movement and freedom, her capture and her eventual release.

Part II: Earth and Water Days

Earth / Water Days

The Beginning of the Five Elements Festival

地 or Chi represents the solid and hard things of the world; mentally, it is a desire to have things remain as they are and resist change. For us, chi comes out as deference to the past or the foundation on which something is based.

Translated as sui or mizu, 水 represents those which are flowing, fluid and formless. Water is associated with emotion, defensiveness and deals with change and our ability to be flexible and adapt to it.

We began the festivities quietly, with a simple shrine ceremony focused on the earth element. Those who attended washed their hands at the chouzuya, offered a small prayer at the earth shrine and observed images of Shinmachi’s past in the nearby museum.

Directly after the shrine event, Tsuyu-chan hosted her first chanoyu (traditional Japanese tea ceremony). Her chanoyu was held in the water gardens and featured a water theme throughout. I could not have been a prouder older sister.

The earth / water days ended with a reproduction of my second favorite kabuki performance: Heron Maiden. We completely transformed the temporary festival stage (more pictures of that building to come in future blog posts) into a winter wonderland. It was an amazing performance and I wish I would have taken more pictures!