Pop Japan

These women are geishas.

They can be considered as a simpler version of the true courtesans or superstars of the Japanese Edo period, the oirans. They have simpler kimonos, simpler back obis or sash, simpler hairdos, simpler footwear, simpler movements.

There was a time in Japanese history that the government did something with the courtesan house, thus leading to the fall of the reign of the oirans. When that happened, wealthy men looking for pleasure turned to geishas, who are then considered as high-class and high-cultured women. And from then, history was rewritten.

Photo by Steven Rolland. Licensed under Creative Commons. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en)

Tags: history, geisha, oiran, geisha vs oiran, edo period, arts, tradition, japan, japanese edo period, kimono, obi, courtesans, superstars, japanese history