??

Set in a sea of rice fields, the pleasure quarters of Shimabara (Isle of Fields) were once surrounded by a moat and wall. Women entered the west or east gates often never to reemerge, remaining within as virtual captives to provide their guests with a variety of pleasures.

In Japan, there were four such districts licensed under the watchful eye of the Tokugawa Shogunate. Unlike its counterparts in Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagasaki, however, Shimabara boasted a special class of women trained in all the traditional arts: known as tayu, their beauty and refinement were legendary, and were even said to surpass those of the geisha.

The origin of the word tayu is obscure. One theory is that the title derived from an appellation and ranking that, centuries ago, was conferred on members of the court who were accomplished in the arts.
Later, the name was bestowed on artistically-gifted commoners who entertained the aristocrats. Another theory holds that the women who eventually became tayu were daughters or wives of noble households that had fallen on hard times and had turned to artistic pursuits to support themselves. Whichever story is the real one, the fact is that tayu were accorded fifth rank status in the court's five-tiered hierarchy.

Like geisha, tayu also drink with their guests; unlike geisha, they may refuse an offer of alcohol. They can even refuse to serve a guest. This latter privilege is exercised through an ingenious ceremony called kashi no shiki.

By the lig...