Pontochō - Citizendia

Pontochō (先斗町) is a district in Kyoto, Japan, known for geisha and home to many geisha houses and traditional tea houses. (IPA /kʲoːto / is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. or are traditional female Japanese Entertainers whose skills include performing various Japanese arts such as classical music and dance Like Gion, Pontochō is famous for the preservation of forms of traditional architecture and entertainment. Gion (祇園 is a district of Kyoto, Japan, originally developed in the Middle Ages in front of Yasaka Shrine. The term architecture (from Greek αρχιτεκτονικήarchitektoniki) can be used to mean a process a profession or documentation

The name Pontochō is said to be a portmanteau of the English word "point" or the Portuguese word "ponto" (also meaning point) and the Japanese word meaning town, street, or road. English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States Portuguese ( or língua portuguesa) is a Romance language that originated in what is now Galicia (Spain and northern Portugal. is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities The district crest is a stylized water plover or chidori. Plovers are a widely distributed group of wading Birds belonging to the Subfamily Charadriinae.

Pontochō centres around one long, narrow, cobbled alley running from Shijo-dōri to Sanjo-dōri, one block west of the Kamo River (Kamogawa). The Kamo River ( Japanese: 鴨川 or 賀茂川 Kamo-gawa) is a river in Kyoto, Japan. This is also the traditional location of the start of kabuki, and a statue of Okuni still stands on the opposite side of the river. is a form of traditional Japanese theatre. Kabuki theatre is known for the stylization of its drama and for the elaborate Make-up worn by some of its performers (1572?-? was the main founder of Kabuki theater She was believed to be a Miko at the Grand Shrine of Izumo who began a new style of dance in the dry

Geisha have existed in Pontochō since at least the 1500s, as have prostitution and other forms of entertainment. Prostitution in Japan has a long and varied history While the Anti-Prostitution Law of 1956 made organized Prostitution illegal various loopholes liberal interpretations of Today the area, lit by traditional lanterns at night, contains a mix of very expensive restaurants—often featuring outdoor riverside dining on wooden patios—geisha houses and tea houses, brothels, bars, and cheap eateries.

The area is also home to the Pontochō Kaburenjō Theatre at the Sanjo-dōri end of the street. This theatre functions as a practice hall for geisha and twice a year since the 1870s Kyoto geisha perform the Kamogawa Odori—Kamogawa river dancing, a combination of traditional dance, kabuki-like theatre, singing and the playing of traditional instruments—there, offering a rare chance for ordinary people to see performances by real geisha.

Pontochō is also the location of the geisha house where American anthropologist Liza Dalby apprenticed. Liza Crihfield Dalby (born 1950 is an American Anthropologist and novelist specializing in Japanese culture.

See also