The Courtesan, Part 1

First Published: April, 1999 by Dark Horse Comics

• Miyamoto Usagi

Oiran

The yearly courtesan procession was a sight to behold. The oiran, with her retinue, made an appearance in her finest gowns, on foot-high, black-lacquered clogs called mitsuba-no-kuro-nuri-geta. Her costume was so voluminous and heavy (fifty pounds or more) that she had to be assisted by one or two wakaimono - male servants of a brothel - on whose shoulders she could lean. Her skirts were tied up for easier walking, allowing spectators a view of her bare, white feet. Folded paper peeked out of her collar to be used as a handkerchief. J.E. Becker, in The Nightless City, writes: "The sight of a lovely and bewitching yujo clad in rich silk brocades glittering with gold and polychromatic tints: of her wonderful pyramidal coiffure ornamented with numerous tortoise-shell and coral hairpins so closely thrust together as to suggest a halo of light encircling her head; and her stately graceful movements as she swept slowly and majestically through the Nako-no-cho, must indeed have appeared magnificent and awe-inspiring to the uninitiated."

The oiran was a courtesan of high status. The term was supposedly derived from "oira no ane" or "my elder sister," a term of respect used by apprentice courtesans in the Yoshiwara pleasure district of Edo.

The oiran should not be confused with the geisha ("art person"), who were women skilled in dancing, singing, playing musical instruments, and conversation. The geisha still exist, but the oiran, as portrayed in period movies and art, have all but disappeared.

There are still processions, however. The Bunsui Oiran Dochu in Nishikanbara, Niigata Prefecture, is celebrated usually the third Sunday in April. The Senteisai Matsuri at Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture, dates back to the times when court ladies became widows of husbands lost in wars and became courtesans. In sympathy, women don the ceremonial attire to honor them.

The visual for Lady Maple was inspired by the character Agemaki from the kabuki play Sukeroku Yukari no Edozarkura.

References to this story came from: Kabuki Costume by Ruth M. Shaver, 1966, Charles E. Tuttle Co. of Rutland, Vermont and Tokyo, Japan (a profusely illustrated book not only useful for kabuki but for everyday wear as well; this also contained a detailed description of a procession and the oiran's costume); Kabuki: Eighteen Traditional Dramas by Toshio Kawatake and Akira Iwata, 1985, Chronicle Books of San Francisco (beautiful photographs with summaries of plays); Japanese Festivals by Helen Bauer and Sherwin Carlquist, 1965, Doubleday & Co. of New York; Japan by Nebojsa Bato Tomasevic, Michael Random, and Louis Frederic, 1986, Flint River Publishers of new York. I also used Samurai Trilogy Part II: Duel at Ichijoji Temple, directed by Inagaki (available on video), which has Miyamoto Musashi staying at the home of an oiran on which I based the visuals of Maple's private residence, including that vertically swinging gate. An episode of the Kage no Gundan II TV series entitled "The Two-faces Art of Kunoichi" featured a procession, albeit on a limited production budget.

While strolling through the village, Usagi again sees the girl he noted at the end of issue 25. He decides to follow her and saves her from accosters.

The next morning Usagi views a procession of the famous courtesan, Lady Maple. In the procession is the girl that Usagi helped the night before.

Later in the day at the inn, Usagi receives an invitation to Lady Maple's private home and is further invited to remain as her guest in thanks for helping her servant, Yoshino. After dinner, Usagi decides to stroll the courtyard, and sees Yoshino sneaking out again. Concerned for her safety, Usagi follows. After witnessing a switch designed to foil any pursuers, Usagi trails Yoshino to a small house.

The samurai who accosted Yoshino the night before show up and Usagi barges into the house to warn her. There he finds Yoshino with a toddler boy and an old woman. Yoshino gives the boy to Usagi, begging him to take the child to safety and then tell Lady Maple what has happened. Usagi takes the child and hides behind another building, watching what happens. Yoshino and the old woman run with a bundle in Yoshino's hands. The samurai kill the old woman and run down Yoshino, only to discover the bundle she carries are rags. She is taken away, but not before she dissuades Usagi with a shake of her head not to interfere. Usagi relunctantly does as she directed.

Last change: 19. May 2003

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Usagi Yojimbo, including all prominent characters featured in the stories and the distinctive likenesses thereof are trademarks of Stan Sakai and Usagi Studios. Usagi Yojimbo is a registered trademark of Stan Sakai. Names, characters, places, and incidents featured in this publication either are the product of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons (living or dead), events, institutions, or locales, without satiric content, is coincidental.