Hanamachi
From Freepedia
A hanamachi (花街) is a Japanese geisha district. The word's literal meaning is "flower town", which refers to the phrase used to describe geisha society ("flower and willow world").
Each hanamachi usually has okiya (the geisha families' houses), ochaya (tea houses, where geisha do most of their entertaining), a kaburenjo (a meeting place for geisha, usually with a theatre, rooms where geisha classes can be held, and the kemban offices, which deal with geishas' pay, regulation and similar matters).
Hanamachi
Kyoto hanamachi:
Shimabara is sometimes referred to as a hanamachi, although it was home to prostitutes, not geisha.
Tokyo hanamachi:
Yoshiwara was the Tokyo courtesans' district; again, it can
