Miyagawacho geisha district, Kyoto

Maiko are going along the tea houses in Miyagawacho, taking notes; they are probably preparing for Hatsuyori, a New year's visit made by maiko to their music and dance teacher.

[Street lined with tea houses in Miyagawacho]

Miyagawacho is one of the five hanamachi or geiko quarters in Kyoto. Although less famous than Gion or Pontocho, there are quite some traditional houses left. While the mark of Gion is a band with small circles and that of Pontocho a stylized plover, Miyagawacho has three interconnected rings as its trademark, as can be seen on the lanterns hanging in front of the houses. The rings symbolize the unity of the shrine/temples, the townspeople and the tea houses.

[Tea house lantern and New Year decoration in Miyagawacho]

When Hideyoshi in the 2nd half of the 16th c. built Fushimi Castle and Hokoji Temple in the south-eastern part of Kyoto, traffic along Yamato-oji Street increased and townhouses started appearing. What is now Miyagawacho was probably laid out at first on the wider banks of the Kamo River, a place where entertainers gathered. Miyagawa or 'Shrine River' was the nickname of the part of the Kamo River just south of Shijo; it was so called because during the Gion Festival the mikoshi of the Yasaka Shrine was purified here in the waters of the river.

[Miyagawacho, Kyoto]

In the last decades of the 17th c. the area was redeveloped. The banks of the Kamo River were fortified with stone and Miyagawacho grew into a town of tea houses connected with Kabuki - Kabuki was performed in many small theaters on the banks of the Kamo River. Some of the tea houses were even installed on boats in the river. As Kabuki was just then developing into a mass entertainment spectacle, as we know it today, the area was very popular and Miyagawacho quickly grew into a full-blown town of tea houses.

The association with Kabuki has gone, but the Minamiza Kabuki Theater of Kyoto still stands on a historical spot on the east bank of the Kamo River, just below Shijo, and north of Miyagawacho. Today, Miyagawacho has its own kaburenjo or theater where geisha dances are performed.