Kamishichiken

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Kamishichiken (上七軒) is a district of Kyoto, Japan. It is the oldest geisha district hanamachi (花街 “flower towns”) or geisha districts in northwest Kyoto, just east of the Kitano Tenmangu Shrine (北野天満宮). The name Kamishichiken literally means "Seven upper houses." These refer to the seven teahouses built from the equipment and material leftover from the rebuilding of the Kitano Tengu shrine in Muromachi era (1333 - 1573).

Kamishichiken is located in Kyoto’s Nishijin area, which is known for traditional hand-woven textiles. The quiet streets are made up of dark, wooden buildings, mainly ochaya (teahouses) and okiya (geisha houses). The geisha of this district are known for being subtle, few in number but each highly accomplished dancers and musicians.

There are approximately 25 maiko and geiko in Kamishichiken, along with 11 teahouses. Every spring in April the Kitano Odori (北野をどり) is performed in the distinctive Hanayagi-ryu. The district crest is a ring of skewered dango (sweet dumplings). On lanterns they appear as red circles on white paper (as opposed to Gion, which usues white dango on a red background).

The Ichi teahouse in the Kamishichiken district maintains an extremely popular blog written by Ichimame, an 18-year-old maiko at the teahouse. Ichimame is perhaps the first and only maiko with a blog. Ichi teahouse web site also intends to promote the Kamishichiken district which is not as well-known because it is not located near the busy Yasaka Shrine area.