Ume-Hime

Here is my next installment in my neglected Hime Series, Ume-hime or Plum Blossom Princess. The plum blossom is a Winter-blooming flower, which begins to bloom around early January and will last until April at the latest, but the height of Ume season is decidely February. I decided to place Ume-hime in the early Edo Period (sometimes called the Tokugawa Period, 1603-1868), which was the time in which Japan was isolated from the rest of the world, and the Japanese culture bloomed like a hot-house flower. During this time, Japan's famous pleasure quarters were formed, and that is where I placed Ume-hime. She is a Tayuu, the highest rank of courtesan.

In the modern usage, the term Tayuu refers to the high courtesans from the Kyoto Pleasure Quarters (specifically Shimabara, the first liscensed quarter), while Oiran refers to the courtesans from Tokyo (then called Edo, and specifically from the Yoshiwara Quarter), but that is not how the terms were used historically. The term Tayuu came first and then fell out of use, with Oiran coming later. Thus, the two terms convey rather different women, different times, and different styles to those who know the history of the terms. Tayuu were the first great courtesans of the pleasure quarters. They were often once noblewomen who had been displaced by the wars of the previous era, so they had incredible refinement and accomplishments. Scholars of later generations would often lament the loss of these ladies over the years, for Oiran were often not as skilled and elegant as these noble Tayuu were. The style of dress that Tayuu wore was different from later Oiran. The waxed coiffures studded with tortoiseshell combs and pins associated with Oiran were created during the mid-late Edo Period as an evolution of classic Chinese Ming Era hairstyles that were popular with the courtesans of late Muromachi Period and early Edo Period. During the time of Tayuu, most women wore their hair down, and courtesans were capable of styling their own hair. The obi also had not reached the standard 6 inch half-width used now, nor the body swallowing proportions of the Oiran. Make-up was also different, in that Tayuu applied theirs lightly, in the way geisha used to do when they were first popular. Tayuu also faced more govermental regulations than Oiran, and often during the Tayuu's time, men were not allowed to visit the pleasure quarters at night. Generally speaking, the only similarity in a Tayuu's style and an Oiran's was in their robes, in which they both wore layers of sumputous kimono with an over-robe (uchikake) above it all. But even in that, the feeling was different because Tayuu were before the era of iki, or refined and subtle elegance, so the lavish creations they wore were the height of style while Oiran were gaudy by the rules of iki.

After the Cherry Blossom, the Plum Blossom is probably the flower held in highest esteem in Japanese aesthetics. It has long been considered the favorite of literati and other such circles in Japan. It has a lot of symbolism attached to it. Plum blossoms come in many different colors, ranging from white to red with many different shades of pink. It comes with just as many poetic allusions as cherry blossoms, and during the Heian period, the nobility loved it more than the cherry blossoms. It's a flower that blooms beautifully in the coldest time of year, when no other flower could survive, and becomes even more beautiful as it ages. I wanted my Ume-hime to reflect this, a beautiful and strong woman who will age gracefully surrounded by the men who adore her.

... I don't think I like how this looks on the computer screen... why does my work always look so wonky online?

Hime Series-
Sakura Hime- [link]
Kiku Hime- [link]
Fuji Hime- [link]
Ajisai Hime- [link]
Botan Hime- [link]
Asagao Hime- [link]
Ayame Hime- [link]
Tsubaki Hime- [link]
Kanran Hime- [link]