Machiya
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Machiya are traditional wooden townhouses found throughout Japan and typified in the historical capital of Kyoto. Machiya and nōka constitute the two categories of Japanese vernacular architecture kno
The Tōmatsu house from Funairi-chō, Nagoya, is an example of a large machiya.
Machiya façade in Kyoto
Old fabric shop in Nara
Hibukuro over the tōriniwa
Oiran
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Oiran is a collective term for the highest-ranking courtesans in Japanese history, who were considered to be above common prostitutes for their more refined entertainment skills and training in the tr
An oiran sitting with a client and an apprentice. Ukiyo-e print by Suzuki Harunobu (1765).
Picture of oiran in 1917
The modern-day tayū Kisaragi of the Wachigaiya okiya of Shimabara, Kyoto on parade
An actress dressed as an oiran in parade wearing distinctive high platform shoes