Hanamikoji Street 花見小路通

Tradition is good

 

Hanamikoji Street is the main hanamachi street of Gion-Kōbu in Kyoto. At nightfall, many tourists flock there hoping to see a geisha leaving a tea house (ochaya). An appearance as magical as it is furtive…

 

ichiriki-tei

The Ichiriki ochaya

http://www.gion.or.jp

A legendary ochaya

At the corner of Hanamikoji Street and Shijo Avenue is the Ichiriki ochaya , the oldest and most prestigious establishment in Gion. This ochaya with vermilion walls has been welcoming political figures and powerful businessmen who have come to have fun for more than three hundred years. Note that access to this establishment is only possible by invitation ; an entrance fee that regulars pass on from generation to generation. But prestige is not the only reason for its fame. The tea house is indeed linked to two famous historical events.

 

ichiriki-tea-house

The ochaya Ichiriki. Print by Nishijima Katsuyuki (20th century)

https://ukiyo-e.org

ichiriki-tea-house-hiroshige

The Ichiriki tea house. Print by Hiroshige (circa 1835-1840)

https://ukiyo-e.org/

The story of a creation

Despite the presence of the hundred-year-old ochaya , Hanamikoji Street with the sweet scent of old Japan is quite recent since it was only created at the beginning of the Meiji era (1868-1912) . In Edo period, there was another hanamachi in Shijodori. Thus, the entrance to the Ichiriki ochaya, currently on the Hanamikoji street side, was on the Shijodori. The political upheavals of the Meiji Restoration and the work on the tramway at the start of the 20th century led to the relocation of the hanamachi .

 

 

 

gion-corner

Traditional culture is valued at Gion Corner

S.V.

The simple beauty of the Zen garden Kennin ji (Kyoto)

""

Olivier Lejade


Address, timetable & access

  • Address

  • Timetable

    5 min walk from Gion Shijô metro station on the Keihan line or 5 min from the Gion stop on bus lines 100, 201 and 206.
  • Price

    Free

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