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#6 Ochaya Culture Lives on in Minami

Ochaya Culture Once Flourished in Osaka
In general, ochaya are establishments where guests are entertained by dancing, singing, and other performances, offered up by both maiko and geiko (the terms used in Kyoto to describe apprentice and master geisha). Such entertainment is enjoyed while consuming food and drink. Ochaya are traditionally inaccessible to first-time customers, referred to as ichigen-san, because such people lack referrals from established ochaya clientele. This exclusivity is one factor that has contributed to the contemporary boom in ochaya popularity.
While Gion in Kyoto is the nation's most recognized name with regard to ochaya culture, many people may not know that there once flourished a glamorous ochaya culture within Osaka, a culture whose legacy remains to this day.
In general, ochaya are establishments where guests are entertained by dancing, singing, and other performances, offered up by both maiko and geiko (the terms used in Kyoto to describe apprentice and master geisha). Such entertainment is enjoyed while consuming food and drink. Ochaya are traditionally inaccessible to first-time customers, referred to as ichigen-san, because such people lack referrals from established ochaya clientele. This exclusivity is one factor that has contributed to the contemporary boom in ochaya popularity.
While Gion in Kyoto is the nation's most recognized name with regard to ochaya culture, many people may not know that there once flourished a glamorous ochaya culture within Osaka, a culture whose legacy remains to this day.



Hanamachi in Osaka as a Cultural Birthplace
During the Edo Period, there were four major ochaya (hanamachi) districts within Osaka. These were Shinmachi, Horie, Kitashinchi, and Nanchi. In the early Showa Period, when Osaka was called Dai-Osaka (Great Osaka), the hanamachi business in Osaka thrived, with 500 maiko and geiko working in Kitashinchi, 500 more in Horie, some 900 in Shinmachi, and another 2,000 in Nanchi.
Back then, ochaya in Osaka were considered not just providers of entertainment, but as the holders of kamigata geino traditions (entertainment forms originating in Osaka and Kyoto -including jiuta-mai (dance and song accompanied by the shamisen). For many business owners in the Senba area, ochaya were places where information could be exchanged, and social interactions enjoyed. Kimono worn by geiko set the latest fashion trends, and dishes served at ochaya were a reflection of Osaka's renowned gourmet culture. At that time, Osaka's hanamachi were indeed the center of local culture.


Major Setback Caused by Bombings
Osaka's ochaya, however, suffered major setbacks as the hanamachi districts received significant bomb damage during World War Two. Tomitaya, for example, was a prestigious ochaya in Soemoncho, Nanchi. It was bombed out during the war and not reconstructed. With its passing, authentic ochaya traditions were also lost. Some ochaya managed to reopen after the war, rebuilding their businesses from the ground up. This included the reconstruction of facilities and the replacing equipment, everything from tableware to wall scrolls, through to the kimono worn by women.
The reason that maiko disappeared from Osaka's postwar hanamachi is that many ochaya focused their reestablishment efforts on furnishing the needs of established geiko rather than those of maiko, for whom the period of apprenticeship through to their graduation at the age of 20 years old was some way off.


Nanchi Yamatoya: Kamigata Culture's Hall of Fame
Nanchi Yamatoya was first opened in 1875 (Meiji 8) as an okiya, or geiko management house, in Soemoncho, Nanchi. In 1910 (Meiji 43), the third-generation owner, Yuzaburo Sakaguchi, opened Yamatoya Geigi (Geiko) School to train future generations of geiko. A number of star geiko graduated from the school, including Han Takehara, who became a master performer of the jiuta-mai school of dance. Aiming to create more opportunities to present the geiko arts, Sakaguchi continued to expand his business by opening an ochaya and a ryotei (an upper-class restaurant). Along with its growing reputation as the top ochaya in Nanchi, a number of big names from both politics and business began to utilize Nanchi Yamatoya for social occasions. Imperial family members, celebrities from abroad; and state guests often visited and were entertained on the premises.
In 1965 (Showa 40), the fourth-generation owner, Kiku Sakaguchi, remodeled Yamatoya into a 5-story building, featuring a full-scale Noh stage on the 2nd floor. Kiku Sakaguchi hoped that, by upgrading Yamatoya to serve as a Kamigata Culture Hall of Fame, she could also help improve the status of geiko and revitalize the city of Osaka, which seemed to be losing its energy and appeal.
The movement to preserve kamigata culture was further supported by the establishment of the Kamigata Culture and Entertainment Association in 1983 (Showa 58). This organization was headed by the novelist, Ryotaro Shiba. Since 1984, the association has continuously been hosting a performance called "Kamigata Hanabutai" at the National Bunraku Theatre. This performance showcases various kamigata geiko entertainment forms, not normally presented outside ochaya.

(Left) A scene from "Kamigata Hanabutai" / (Right) "Hera-hera Odori," a special program of entertainment at Yamatoya. It incorporates elements from Meiji-era Tokyo vaudeville.

Yamatoya, however, began to lose a significant number of customers during the bubble economy, as many corporate clients shifted the focus of their business to Tokyo. The financial downturn of the late 1990s further forced corporate clients to avoid using ochaya for client entertainment. Bars, “snack” joints, and adult entertainment businesses began to emerge in the vicinity of Yamatoya, making its business environment decline further. As a result, in 2003 (Heisei 15), Nanchi Yamatoya was forced to close its ochaya business, ending its 126-year history. However, the traditions and culture of the ochaya business have been passed onto the Yamatoya restaurant business, it currently running five restaurants in Osaka, Tokyo, and Yokohama. These restaurants serve authentic kamigata-style dishes.


Preserving and Continuing Ochaya Culture
Following the closing of Nanchi Yamatoya, the Kamigata Culture and Entertainment Association, with the support of local business, has played an active role in preserving and developing kamigata culture and entertainment. It has also actively promoted the participation of kamigata entertainers in various cultural events. The presentation of the Kamigata Hanabutai is one of the association’s major projects.
In Kyoto, efforts to maintain the ochaya cultural heritage have been the result of government and private party cooperation.


In 1996 (Heisei 8), with support from Kyoto Prefecture, a group comprised of Kyoto City, local business, the Kyoto City Tourist Association, and the Kyoto Hanamachi Association founded the Kyoto Traditional Musical Art Foundation, or "Ookini Zaidan." In addition to hosting an annual collaborative performance staged by the five hanamachi districts, the foundation has been making efforts to promote hanamachi as a highlight of Kyoto tourism. This has been done by providing training to future generations of traditional performing artists, recruiting potential maiko, and operating Gion Corner (Kyoto Traditional Art and Entertainment Center).
In contrast to the current national law that prohibits young girls under 18 years old from working in situations that would require them to serve alcoholic beverages, a Kyoto City ordinance allows for girls 15 or older to work as maiko.


Wakadanna's Challenge
Shimanouchi Tanigawa is the only ochaya still operating in Minami, Osaka. It was opened in 1969 (Showa 44) when the owner Mieko Tanigawa, a former geiko, bought a ryotei restaurant and opened it as ochaya. In 1988, Tanigawa's 2-story wooden house with traditional black wall was transformed into a modern 4-story building, which features sukiya-style zashiki, or tatami-matted guest rooms.
Megumu Tanigawa, the son of Mieko, decided to return home and prepare himself to inherit the family business in 2002 (Heisei 14), long after the ochaya industry had started to decline. As the "wakadanna," or young successor to the Tanigawa name, Megumu has been devoting himself to training and cultivating young employees, successfully fostering three geiko who now stand in residence at Shimanouchi Tanigawa.
He has also been actively promoting himself in various media, sharing with the public his experience and knowledge of Minami's ochaya culture through TV programs and newspaper interviews. Megumu has also been expanding opportunities for the general public to experience ochaya culture by organizing workshops led by geiko and inviting local cultural schools to Tanigawa.

お茶屋
A scene of ozashiki at Shimanouchi Tanigawa
"Osaka's ozashiki culture is not just about showing singing and dancing skills to our guests," says Megumu. "Geiko have always been part of local traditions and ceremonies outside the ochaya culture, such as the Hoekago Parade at Toka Ebisu Festival in January of each year, the rice planting ceremony at Sumiyoshi Taisha Shrine in June, the geiko boat at Tenjin Festival in July, and the Shinno Festival in Doshomachi in November. Today, not many people know about the hanamachi culture, or geiko entertainment being preserved in Osaka. My goal is to tell as many people as possible about this tradition."

Once supported by wealthy sponsors, Osaka's ochaya culture continues to lose its memories of glory days. It seems that finding both people and methods by which to sustain the culture will continue to be a challenging issue into the future.

 


December 8, 2008
Hiroshi Yamanou, Osaka Brand Center



Shimanouchi Tanigawa
2-4-29 Shimanouchi, Chuo-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka
Tel: 06-6211-2219
Megumu's official blog "Wakadanna-no Ozashiki Nyumon (in Japanese only)"
http://megumu.blog.eonet.jp/megumu/
 

<Reference>
"Yamatoya Saiji" Nanchi Yamatoya, Shibata Publishing, 1996
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