浮世の花 - Sanders of Oxford

okiya: A geisha house
oiran: Literally, ‘castle-topplers’: the general term for the highest-ranking and most
desirable courtesans
rônin: Literally ‘wave men’: masterless samurai
sakura: Cherry blossom
seirô: A ‘green house’ or brothel
senryû: An epigrammatic seventeen-syllable verse
seppuku: A form of ritual suicide through disembowelment
shamisen [samisen]: Three-stringed ‘banjo’ widely played by popular entertainments,
particularly geisha
shinzô: The equivalent to senior maiko in the hierachy of the courtesan: grown-up female
attendants
shokudai: Candlestick or candlestand
shushoku [teshoku]: A portable candlestick
soroimono: A set of ukiyo-e prints published in a series with a common title
surimono: De luxe, small edition woodblock prints, often commissioned by poetry clubs.
tate-e: Aprint in horizontal/portrait format. Yoko-e stands for an ukiyo-e print in landscape
format
tayû: Highest-ranking courtesan in a brothel; now used generically as an equivalent to oiran
ukiyo: The ‘floating world’
ukiyo-e: Pictures of the ‘floating world’
yobidashi: Highest-ranking courtesan, replacing tayû, when they priced themselves out of
the competitive market
yarite: Older women who acted as chaperones to oiran
Yoshiwara: The principal licensed pleasure quarter in Edo. Renamed Shin [New] Yoshiwara
in 1857
yûjo: A ‘woman of pleasure’ or prostitute
zashiki: A banquet room or an engagement with a client
Edo or Tokugawa Period (1615-1868)
An'ei (1772-1781)
Tenmei (1781-1789)
Kansei (1789-1801)
Kyôwa (1801-1804)
Bunka 1804-1818)
Bunsei (1818-1830)
Tenpô (1830-1844)
Kôka (1844-1848)
Kaei (1848-1854)
Ansei (1854-1860)
Man'en (1860-1861)
Bunkyû (1861-1864)
Genji (1864-1865)
Keiô (1865-1868)
Meiji (1868-1912)
Taishô (1912-1926)
JAPANESE ERA NAMES