#taikomochi

[amagnificentobsession]

Geisha makeover in Tokyo, a must do for men and women

Read about our geisha make over experience: dressing up like geisha in Tokyo with stunning kimonos, traditional geisha make-up and photoshoo

@dream-of-pain

So beautiful ♥️🔥

[irohashop]

Endangered species of entertainer in Japan 2/2

Men, too, should wear kimono! Hōkan, an endangered species of entertainer 2/2 - IROHASHOP JAPAN

Japanese men have always dressed well and used to wear kimono as everyday wear, a traditional dress now threatened with extinction. In fact,

[jwbjwb]

Guess what I found in the middle of the night.

While resting from writing, I searched up the term ‘Danna’ which led me to the Geisha sector of Wikipedia. Apparently, the original Geishas were males called Taikomochis/houkans. Like their female counterparts, they specialize in arts and entertainment whom they perform specifically for their patrons called ‘Danna’s’. Seeing how Geishas are a prominent figure in Japanese arts, is it that far of a reach to think our beloved artists’ dynamic is partially inspired by this piece of history during conceptualization? I mean, look at the idea of both the Taikomochi/houkan and Geisha: "Geisha" means "arts person", while hōkan was the formal name for "jester".

By the 16th century, they became known as otogishu or hanashishu (story tellers), where they focused on story telling, humour, conversation. They were sounding boards for military strategies and they battled at the side of their lord.” parallel it to akatsuki’s most comedic and personable character (not to mention prettiest), Deidara.

Then look at Danna:

“It was traditional in the past for established geisha to take a danna, or patron. A danna was typically a wealthy man, sometimes married (to fucking kazekage puppet LOL), who had the means to support the very large expenses related to a geisha's traditional training and other costs.”

and consider:

Deidara is a hired arts person, (a fuckin geisha my guy, he’s too fuckin pretty not to be)  partnered with one of Akatsuki’s senior members, Sasori, who we can consider as his patron. What you could have here is Deidara being Sasori’s personal little shit Geisha/Taikomochi. To sum up what I’m trying to say, its that our favorite artist duo could have been influenced by this dynamic. 

Coincidence? I think not! But at the end of the day, with this being an analysis on characters Kishi probably didn’t give too many fucks about, its probably a reach. And you know what? That’s alright, its an interesting concept regardless. It would be nice to read fanfic about it though. *nudge nudge* Bonus: “The taikomochi pretends to be talking to a pretend danna (patron) who obviously wants to have sex. The taikomochi explains that he isn't homosexual (something Deidara is always accused of honestly xP), and that he's called a geisha (demand to be recognized as an artist?LOL), but the pretend danna is impatient. So the taikomochi gives in to please the client, and acts out (half hidden by a screen) the sex with moans and rolling of eyes, until the climax. The taikomochi then gets a tissue to 'clean up'. The audience roared with laughter because they all knew that this was a joke, making fun of how geisha and taikomochi please their customers! Of course they don't go that far”

[maigeiko]

Two Tokyo Hangyoku dancing, three Taikomochi serving as Jikata, Summer 1945. Photo by Glenn Eve, published on flickr.

[kikyo-mihata]

[maigeiko]

I wanted to ask, is there anything different about houkan's trainIng/apprenticeship period, and are there any differences in terminology, like shikomi and minarai?

I’m sorry but I know next to nothing about Hôkan! I’ve been looking around at Tsurukomaiko, and Tatsuji from Gifu has been called Minarai before his official debut, but is it the official term? He has been sighted “some time in 2015″ and debuted on 3rd June 2016. 

@geimaiko wrote an interesting article about Shichitarô from Asakusa, maybe that’s the better place to ask? :)

Edit: Tatsuji has been called Minarai before his debut in an Asahi article, so I guess that’s the term

[itslurkin]

[geimaiko]

Hello there o/ since you mentioned Taikomochi in the reblogged post, a question that has lived within my head for a long time re-emerged. I saw some performances by Asakusa Taikomochi, they really are alike to court jesters in their arts (no offense, they are artists no less). Gifu Hokan however seem to be like male Geiko in their performances, which explains how Kikuji is able to train Geiko and Maiko. Previously, I thought Taikomochi and Hokan are 2 words for the same job, but I'm not so sure anymore. Would like to hear your 2 cents, if you have an opinion :)

Hey there Anon

Thank you for your question. I did some research as it's been a while since we last talked about Taikomochi and Houkan so i gathered some information to shed some light on the matter.

Here's what i got:

Houkan 幇間 the first Kanji is means "Help" or "to help" like in "to assist" and the second Kanji indicates a span of time. So in my words a temporary assistant. Their traditions can be traced way back to the 1200s royal courts where prestige granted them access to intimate family settings and constructs of noble houses. While interacting with the nobility they specialized in the intricate court etiquette but their expertise was also that of a master of ceremonies. Coordinating weddings, social gatherings as well as religious and spiritual ceremonies, they needed not only a deep understanding of the intricate ins and outs of court but also to keep up to date on the preferred high arts, music and poetry. So they acted as assistant during processions, managed their own retinue, consulted the head of the house on protocol and were experts in good manners.

We often compare their role to that of the European court jester and it has its merits: During the middle ages up to the modern age European royalty cherished the royal jester as a fixed part of the household. Even though they might not stem from nobility themselves, the court jester was usually part of a dynasty of jesters that intertwined with the noble household. But unique to them was the fact that being the fool, the joker, the life of the party during the stiff banquets left them more freedom to express themselves outside of court etiquette. It was always a good idea to be on good terms with the jester as they knew all the dirty secrets and it is widely acknowledged today that many court jesters turned out to be very intelligent, influential and indeed more capable in political settings than most other courtlings, born and bred into an unwilling role.

Modern Houkan express that the comparison is valid to explain their prestigious history. But history had a more dynamic fate prepared for the Houkan. Fast forward many centuries and the political landscape in Japan had shifted from the old capitals to Edo. During this long time of peace and the advent of the pleasure quarters the ruling lords had no more need for the Houkan as a part of their household. Essentially stripped from their prestige, many could not look back on noble rank, so they looked for a new place to offer their services.

Many of the Houkan found great success in the Shimabara, where their deep understanding of court etiquette and their connections to Tayuu and other desirable entertainment helped them keep influential. It was part of the package deal to book a Houkan during an outing in the Shimabara as a guide to the nightlife and to the quarters highlights. And on the flipside the Houkan added their incredible wit and own entertainment to a gathering.

Some Houkan moved to more middling quarters like Shinmachi in Osaka. There they catered to more common tastes but their role stayed essentially the same. In Edo, the Houkan evolved into a new form of jester, the Taikomochi.

太鼓持 (Big drum bearer) has a more hands on connotation to it. We are now far away from 1200s Houkan. We are now in the middle of the 18th century and the Taikomochi's duties have shifted from the master of ceremonies of the nobility to the tour guide of the Yoshiwara. Patrons of the pleasure quarters themselves are not really looking for artistic entertainment, they don't need or want the Tayuu's deep insight into grand Chinese poetry. They are on the look out for dynamic fun. They want romance, they want good food, they want to interact with the Geisha. The Taikomochi is your ticket in.

We talked a lot before about how Geisha filled in the void caused by the Tayuu's disappearance and the Oiran's distinct lack of talent. Same goes for the Taikomochi. Stepping up to fill a gap in entertainment through song, dance and wit, they managed to transition to a more common public because they didn't insist on remaining a beacon of tradition like they do today. Like the Geisha they adapted to modern tastes and survived. The Houkan survived in the areas where refined entertainment was still in demand but even in Kyoto there are next to none left because the Geisha had the stronger selling point when they too traded in modernity for tradition. Arai-sama is the last to operate in Kyoto and he calls himself Taikomochi. He uploaded to his Youtube just yesterday lol:

In the end the Geisha was the Houkan's downfall because they were quick to adapt. Kyoto became the nation's Geisha capital so there was no need for Houkan. In Gifu, Kikuji and Takeji remain the sole representation of their branch and they have commiserated the rarity of their service with the lack of longevity in their Maiko by mashing both up and creating a joint venture. So actually very Houkan-esque to offer an all-round service. Apropos i found this wonderful line up with Aoi and Tsukasa Tayuu:

Asakusa has been the glimmer of hope for Taikomochi and they elegantly combine their services with the Geisha's. They cultivate a wonderfully tight community, entertaining side by side. One can just picture it being just the same during the Edo period. Featured below, everybody's darling Matsunoya Hatchiko:

Always wonderful to see Bonus Eitarou. And even though it would be easy to simply put it into regional dialects, it clearly says Houkan in the title. So no. it's not black and white. But one is widely known: The term Houkan is older and goes back to a very important position in courtly households while the term Taikomochi is more democratc, more modern and more attune to the townpeople's tastes.

As an afterthought i found it incredibly beautiful to find relatively fresh material on our beloved Taikomochi and Houkan in Japan, the oldest uploaded only a couple of months ago. It seems as if they braved through the pandemic unscathed and in high spirits.

Thank you for your question and stay safe