The cherry blossom period is one of the best time of the years to visit Japan. Not only can you enjoy the marvelous sight of the thousands of flowers in bloom, but the temperature is also perfect (Japanese summer can be extremely hot and humid). If you want to combine the sakura season with a traditional Japanese festival featuring an Oiran Dochu parade you even have the chance to do this after the last sakura in Tokyo has fallen.

The prefecture Niigata is among other things known for its hot springs (onsen), and one of the areas most famous for onsen is Yahiko, a village not too far from Tsubame City south in Niigata. I visited Yahiko with my family a little while ago, and we had the pleasure of spending a night at the traditional Japanese ryokan hotel there called Shikinoyado Minoya (四季の宿みのや) - the Inn of Four Seasons. 

The Northern Culture Museum (Hoppou Bunka Hakubutsukan / 北方文化博物館) is a part of the Ito Estate, the former home of one of Japan's largest landowners; the Ito family. The museum was established in 1946 as a donation in the same year as the Land Reform Act was officially proclaimed. Today the estate is open all year around for visitors from all over the world.

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On the 17th of April, it was finally time for the Tsubame Sakura Matsuri (つばめ桜まつり), a festival that is held annually in April in the southern part of Niigata (新潟). 
In the morning we gathered at the Tsubame Bunsui Welfare Center where it was time to get dressed for the event. With more than 70 people participating in the procession in different roles you can imagine all the work that is necessary to prepare for the parade.
It took a couple of hours before we finally were ready to leave the building.

In advance of the festival I had been a bit nervous about the weight of the outfit; with a 20-kilo heavy kimono, a 10-kilo heavy wig and 15 cm high geta shows I had been slightly worried about my ability to finish the whole 2-hour long parade. However, it turned out that the weight of the outfit itself was no problem, it was the wig (katsura - 桂) that ended up being the biggest challenge for me. At one of the practices we had had two professional katsura-makers from Tokyo measuring our heads and shaping the inner metal frame of the katsura to fit our heads perfectly, but despite the detailed construction, the constant pressure on the head from the katsura was still harder to handle than expected. This experience certainly made me a lot more impressed with the oiran who had to wear these sorts of outfits on a regular basis! To me, the katsura felt more like a torture device than something to wear for beauty.. Haha..

• All blog posts from Niigata Prefecture
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• Sightseeing in Niigata: The Ito Estate - Northern Culture Museum (北方文化博物館)
• Sightseeing in Niigata: The Yahiko Shrine (弥彦神社)
• [Hotel Review] Shikinoyado Minoya Ryokan (Yahiko) - 四季の宿みのや
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• All blog posts from the Tsubame Sakura Matsuri
• Elected as Oiran for the Tsubame Sakura Festival! 第74回 分水おいらん道中のおいらん役に！
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• Behind the Scene of the Tsubame Sakura Matsuri Festival - The Oiran Dochu
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The Tsubame Sakura festival in Bunsui.  From the Tsubame Tourism Assoication

Japan is a country of some very distinct traditions, and one thing that might come to mind when thinking about this far-east country is the graceful Japanese courtesan ladies. That is especially the case for the Japanese Geisha, as these courtesans were made famous through the movie “Memoirs of a Geisha” from 2005. There are however another type of Japanese courtesan ladies that hold at least as much history as the Geisha, namely the Oiran (花魁). Some of you might be wondering what the difference is between an Oiran and a Geisha, and although they might appear similar at a first glance there are a few important things that sets them apart.

History

Although the Geisha are more well-known in Western countries the role and position of the two courtesans used to be very different. The Oiran tradition flourished back in the early Edo period (1600-1868), a time where they were seen as entertainers and superstars. The Geisha on the other hand were held in the background and dressed restraint in order for them to not be in competition with the Oiran, and the Oiran profession is thus in a sense the forerunner of the Geisha. The Oiran were educated women who were masters of a wide range of traditional arts, and highly respected for their profession. Back in the days a night with an Oiran would cost as much as one year’s salary for a commoner, but even if you could afford it the Oiran was still free to reject a customer if he was deemed unworthy. 

• All blogposts from the Tsubame Sakura Matsuri
• Elected as Oiran for the Tsubame Sakura Festival! 第74回 分水おいらん道中のおいらん役に！
• The Tsubame Sakura Matsuri: Cherry Blossom PR & Last Minute Preparations
• Behind the Scene of the Tsubame Sakura Matsuri Festival - The Oiran Dochu
• Geisha vs. Oiran: The Characteristics of the Japanese Courtesans
• Try it yourself: An Oiran (花魁) Costplay Experience in Japan
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The devil is in the detail, and that can particularily be said in the case of Japanese traditional arts. For the Edo-period courtesan women called Oiran everything was planned down to the tiniest detail to make sure that they performed their role to perfection, and they even had their own walking style known as the Soto-hachimonji (外八文字). Soto-hachimonji can be translated into something like "outside 8-shape", and simply put this technique involves drawing the character 8 with your feet as you walk. Add the 15-cm high geta shoes and the 30-kilo costume and you might start to get an idea about how tough this must have been back in the days.

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