{{Short description|Place where geisha entertain clients}} {{for|people named Ochaya|Ochaya (surname)}} {{italic title}} [[File:Ichiriki Ochaya.jpg|thumb|Entrance to the Ichiriki Chaya, one of the most famous tea houses where geisha entertain in Gion]] In Japan, an {{Nihongo3|literally "tea house"|お茶屋|'''ochaya'''}} is an establishment where patrons are entertained by geisha.
In the Edo period, ''chaya'' could refer to establishments serving tea and drinks ({{nihongo||水茶屋|mizujaya}}), offering rooms for rent by the hour ({{nihongo||待合茶屋|machiaijaya}}), or brothels ({{nihongo||色茶屋|irojaya}} in Osaka, {{nihongo||引手茶屋|hikitejaya}} in Edo).<ref>精選版 日本国語大辞典 ちゃ‐や【茶屋】https://kotobank.jp/word/%E8%8C%B6%E5%B1%8B-566961</ref> However, in the modern day, {{Transliteration|ja|ochaya}} refers exclusively to the establishments within Kyoto in which geisha work and entertain their clients,<ref name="Institution of">{{cite thesis |last=Crihfield |first=Liza |date=1976 |title=The institution of geisha in modern Japanese society |type=book |publisher=University Microfilms International |oclc=695191203}}</ref>{{rp|304}} though the term is sometimes used to describe all establishments used by geisha to entertain guests, irrespective of location.
Equivalent establishments in locations outside of Kyoto are known as {{nihongo||料亭|'''ryōtei'''}}, meaning "restaurant", referring to a traditional Japanese-style restaurant where geisha may entertain.<ref name="Institution of"/>{{rp|305}} <!-- I've hidden this section; ochaya doesn't translate to "geisha house", it translates to "teahouse". I'm not sure why this source says that they have the same translation; they've always been solidly different terms. If someone could revalidate this source, I'd be grateful; it seems like a meaningless diversion at the minute.
Ochaya, where geisha ''entertain,'' should be distinguished from okiya (boarding house), where geisha ''live'' – these may both be loosely translated as "geisha house." Geisha are attached to a single boarding house (where they do not entertain), and entertain at various ochaya or other venues from night to night. This arrangement originally developed in the yūkaku, or pleasure quarters, where oiran below the rank of tayū or kōshi could be summoned to entertain guests at ochaya.<ref>Seigle, Cecilia Segawa, ''Yoshiwara: The Glittering World of the Japanese Courtesan''. University of Hawaii Press, 1993.</ref>-->
==Terminology== Though the term {{Transliteration|ja|ochaya}} literally means "tea house", the term follows the naming conventions of buildings or rooms used for Japanese tea ceremony, known as {{nihongo3|lit. "tea room"|茶室|chashitsu}}; as such, though tea is served at {{Transliteration|ja|ochaya}} as an ordinary beverage, it is not, unlike teahouses and tearooms found throughout the world, its sole purpose.
When used as part of a name, the honorific prefix {{Transliteration|ja|o-}} is not used in Japanese, and the plain {{Transliteration|ja|chaya}} is used as a suffix, as in "Ichiriki Chaya". In English, this is not always observed, and terminology such as "Ichiriki Ochaya" is sometimes used. {{Transliteration|ja|Ochaya}} are often referred to instead simply by their name, as in "(the) Ichiriki".
==Access== Ichiriki Chaya entrance|200px|thumb|left {{Transliteration|ja|Ochaya}} are typically very exclusive establishments; with very rare exceptions, a person may only enter if they are already an established patron, or are accompanied by a patron, with reservations.<ref name="burgess">{{cite web |last=Burgess |first=Steve |title=The powder puff girls: My $5,000 night at the most exclusive geisha house in Japan. / Memoirs of a gai-jin at the Ichiriki: For 400 Years, Japan's Legendary Geisha House Has Been Satisfying Clients. Tonight, Captain Coquette, Sultaness of Spark, Has Eyes Only for Me |work=Salon |date=13 June 2001 |access-date=8 July 2008 |url=http://www.salon.com/2001/06/13/ichiriki/}}</ref>
Relationships to {{Transliteration|ja|ochaya}} can often be traced back generations, and are generally associated with a family or company. Switching {{Transliteration|ja|ochaya}} is not generally possible,{{citation needed|date=October 2021}} and even patronizing {{Transliteration|ja|ochaya}} other than the one with which one is associated is considered a very serious breach of manners.{{citation needed|date=December 2020}}
In exceptional circumstances, these restrictions are relaxed. For example, for a brief period of only a few nights in 2006, one {{Transliteration|ja|ochaya}} in each of the five Kyoto geisha districts offered general access to a small number of tourists who were unaccompanied by patrons, as part of a tourism promotion program, at the request of the Kyoto City Tourist Association.<ref>"Exclusive Kyoto Teahouses Open Doors to Tourists." Yomiuri Shimbun [Tokyo] 30 Jan. 2006: .</ref>
==Identification== {{Transliteration|ja|Ochaya}} cater to a discreet clientele, and thus do not present a particularly conspicuous front, but nor are they particularly secretive as to their location. {{Transliteration|ja|Ochaya}} are generally located on or near the main streets of their geisha district, and will generally have the name at the entrance, with an {{Nihongo|entrance curtain|暖簾|noren}} and front garden in larger houses, which can be glimpsed from the street. In Kyoto, {{Transliteration|ja|ochaya}} are licensed by the city, and all display a metal badge at the entrance reading {{lang|ja|"「京公許第〜号」「お茶屋」"}} (Kyoto public license #..., {{Transliteration|ja|Ochaya}}).
==Design== As traditional establishments, {{Transliteration|ja|ochaya}} occupy buildings exemplifying traditional Japanese architecture, most often {{Nihongo|town house|町家/町屋|machiya}} style construction, particularly in Kyoto. Interiors will typically be tatami rooms, while exteriors may feature sheer walls (for privacy) or {{Nihongo|wooden lattices|格子|kōshi}}.
==Services== The main function of an {{Transliteration|ja|ochaya}} is to provide a private space for entertainment by geisha (including apprentice geisha). Geisha are not affiliated with a particular teahouse, but are instead hired from the geisha house ({{Transliteration|ja|okiya}}) they are affiliated with by the proprietress of the {{Transliteration|ja|ochaya}} to provide entertainment, consisting of conversation, flirtation, pouring drinks, traditional games, singing, musical instruments, and dancing.<ref name="burgess"/> {{Transliteration|ja|Ochaya}} typically do not prepare food, but customers can order catering a la carte, which is delivered to the house; geisha districts typically have a variety of restaurants serving this trade.<ref name="bow">[http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~mf4n-nmr/itiriki.html 祇園一力亭] (Gion Ichiriki-tei) (in Japanese)</ref>
==Examples== The most notable and famous {{Transliteration|ja|ochaya}} is the Ichiriki Chaya in the Gion district of Kyoto, considered one of the most exclusive {{Transliteration|ja|ochaya}} in Japan. The Ichiriki features as a major setting in Arthur Golden's fictional portrayal of a Gion geisha's life, ''Memoirs of a Geisha.''
==See also== * {{Transliteration|ja|Hanamachi}} * {{Transliteration|ja|Okiya}}
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *[http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~mf4n-nmr/itiriki.html 祇園一力亭] (Gion Ichiriki-tei – article shows pictures of interior, a private dance show, and the house's matchbox) (in Japanese)
Category:Geisha Category:Japanese words and phrases