Note 26 — Hōkan and Geisha.
Reading edition
The following explanations of the origin of the word “
oiran
” are given:—
The “Kinsei jibutsu-Kō” (近世事物考 Reflections about modern things) says:—the higher priced women of the Shin Yoshiwara are now called “oiran” The reason for giving them this name is that in the era of Genroku (1688–1703) the courtesans of the Yoshiwara all planted a large number of trees in the Naka-no chō (central street). About this time a Kamuro (female page) attached to a certain house called the “Kishida-ya” wrote a stanza of poetry which ran:—
“Oiran ga itchi yoku saku sakura kana!” which means in ordinary language “Oira no ane-jōro no ueshi sakura ga ichi-ban yoku sakitari” (The cherry-tree planted by my ane-jōro blossomed more luxuriantly than the others).
This poem, which the little Kamuro so proudly wrote, is a proof that the word oira (“I,” or in connection with no or ga “my” or “mine”) had been corrupted to oiran in the Yoshiwara. It would therefore appear that the present word oiran, which is universally used, arose from the fact that the attendants of courtesans anciently spoke of them as “oiran” (oira no ane = my elder sister).”
The Dōbō-Go-yen-ho 洞房語園補 says:—
“Oiran means “ane-jōrō” (elder-sister, or “senior,” courtesan) or “my elder sister” in the vocabulary of the Yoshiwara. The word oiran is applied to a mild and gentle courtesan.”
Another explanation is that the oiran were so beautiful that even when an old person (Oi-taru mono) met them he was apt to be excited, agitated, and half crazy (亂 = ran) for the love of their pretty faces. Thus the word oi+ran (an aged person + excited half crazy with agitation). The word “oiran” is written 花魁 (hana-no sakigake) and means “the leader of flowers” (i.e.—the most beautiful of all flowers) because a beautiful woman may be compared to a flower, and oiran occupy the same position among other courtesans as the cherry does among other flowers.
The oiran is also compared in a poem by Senryū to the “renge-sō” (Astragalus lotoides? a small wild flower of a whitish pink colour closely resembling a lotus blossom in shape) when he says:—
“Te ni toru na! Yahari no ni oké, Renge-sō.”
“Gather not the blossom of the Renge-sō. Better leave the flower blooming in the meadows.”
This poem conveys a warning to young men not to choose wives from among the denizens of the Yoshiwara.
The word oiran appears in a famous satirical poem, as follows:—
“Oiran no Namida de Kura no Yane ga mori”
“The tears of an oiran cause the roof of one’s house to leak.”