Shirakara Canal in the Gion district, showing the rear of some ochaya

Exclusive restaurants line the streets of Gion.

A geiko entertaining a guest in Gion (Kyoto)

Gion (祇園) is a district of Kyoto, Japan, originally developed in the middle ages, in front of Yasaka Shrine. The district was built to accommodate the needs of travelers and visitors to the shrine. It eventually evolved to become one of the most exclusive and well-known geisha districts in all of Japan. Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 557 pixelsFull resolution (3036 × 2112 pixel, file size: 6. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 557 pixelsFull resolution (3036 × 2112 pixel, file size: 6. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2592x1728, 1263 KB) En: the exclusive restaurants in Gion in Kyoto, Japan (colors boosted up a lot) Copyright © 2003 David Monniaux File links The following pages link to this file: Geisha Gion Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2592x1728, 1263 KB) En: the exclusive restaurants in Gion in Kyoto, Japan (colors boosted up a lot) Copyright © 2003 David Monniaux File links The following pages link to this file: Geisha Gion Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (912x1000, 608 KB) Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (912x1000, 608 KB) Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1. ... Kyoto )   is a city in the central part of the island of HonshÅ«, Japan. ... Yasaka Shrine (八坂神社, yasakajinja), once called Gion Shrine, is a Shinto shrine in the Gion District of Kyoto, Japan. ...

The geisha in the Gion district do not refer to themselves as geisha; instead, Gion geisha use the local term geiko. While the term geisha means "artist," the more direct term geiko means specifically "a woman of art." Women posing as maiko (geisha apprentices), Kyoto, Japan wearing traditional furisode and okobo Geisha ) are traditional, female Japanese entertainers, whose skills include performing various Japanese arts, such as classical music and dance. ... Geiko (芸妓) is the prefered term for a geisha in the Kansai area. ...

This neighborhood in Kyoto has two hanamachis (geiko communities) : Gion Kobu (祇園甲部) and Gion Higashi (祇園東). Despite the considerable decline in the number of geisha in Gion in the last one hundred years, it is still famous for the preservation of forms of traditional architecture and entertainment. A hanamachi (花街) is a Japanese geisha district. ... The need to rebuild Japan after World War II proved a great stimulus to Japanese architecture, and contemporary Japanese buildings rank with the finest in the world in terms of technology and formal conception. ...

Part of this district has been declared a national historical preservation district. Recently, the City of Kyoto completed a project to restore the streets of Gion, which included such plans as moving all overhead utilities underground as part of the ongoing effort to preserve the original beauty of Gion.

Gion remains dotted with old-style Japanese houses called ochaya, which roughly translated means "teahouses." These are traditional establishments where the patrons of Gion -- from the samurai of old to modern-day businessmen -- have been entertained by geiko in an exclusive manner for centuries.

Inside the ochaya is a private and closed world where the evening's entertainment may include cocktails, conversation, and games as well as traditional Japanese music, singing and dancing. To this day, geiko and maiko in full regalia can still be seen in the evenings as they move about through the streets of Gion to and from their various engagements at the ochaya.

There is a popular misconception that Gion was a red-light district. However, as it was a geisha district, and as geisha are entertainers, not prostitutes, Gion is not, and never was, a red-light district. Shimabara was Kyoto's red-light district. The De Wallen red-light district in Amsterdam A red-light district is a neighborhoooood where prostitution and other businesses in the sex industry flourish. ... Prostitution is the sale of sexual services (typically manual stimulation, oral sex, sexual intercourse, or anal sex) for cash or other kind of return, generally indiscriminately with many persons. ... Shimabara is a district of Kyoto. ...

The geiko of Gion still maintain the annual dances, the most popular being the Miyako Odori, "Cherry blossom Dances" or "Dances of the Old Capital," staged by the geisha of Gion Kobu. The dances run from April 1 through April 30 each year during the height of the cherry blossom (sakura) season. Spectators from Japan and worldwide attend the events, which range from "cheap" seats on tatami mats on the floor (approximately $15.00 U.S.), to reserved seats with a small tea ceremony beforehand (approximately $40.00 U.S.). “Cherry Blossom” redirects here. ... Six-mat room with tatami flooring and shoji Tatami ) (originally meaning folded and piled) mats are a traditional Japanese flooring. ... A tea ceremony is a ritualised form of making tea. ...

Gion in popular culture

• Gion is the setting of much of Arthur Golden's novel Memoirs of a Geisha.
• Gion is the setting of several films by Kenji Mizoguchi, including:
  • 1936 Sisters of the Gion (祇園の姉妹 Gion no kyodai)
  • 1953 A Geisha aka Gion Music Festival (祇園囃子 Gion bayashi)