Ohashi Tayu (大橋太夫)
Ohashi Tayu was a tayu (courtesan) in Shimabara, Kyoto.
There were two famous tayu. One was 'Ohashi Tayu,' who was active during the middle of the Edo period.
She was well versed in waka (a traditional Japanese poem of 31 syllables) and calligraphy, and was even had a respected title of 'Ohashi sama' in the calligraphy world.
The other 'Ohashi Tayu,' who was active during the middle of the 18th century, is the focus of this section.
Her Life as a Tayu
Ohashi Tayu succeeded the professional name 'Ohashi' from the tayu mentioned earlier.
Ohashi Tayu's year of birth and death are unknown. She excelled in waka, calligraphic works and paintings.
Her given name was 'Ritsu,' and she was the daughter of a hatamoto (direct retainers of the bakufu, which is a form of Japanese feudal government headed by a shogun) living in Edo.
After her father became a ronin (masterless samurai) for some reasons, the family moved to Kyoto, where she later entered the Shimabara.
Her high level of education acquired as a daughter of a samurai elevated her status there and came to be the most famous courtesan of Shimabara at the time.
Do the plum blossoms smell sweet because somebody's sleeve carrying the sweet smell of incense touched them? I would like to ask the time-honored spring moon.
One day, a gentleman bought her freedom from her employer which allowed her to leave Shimabara. After that gentleman passed away, she got remarried to Kazumoto KURIHARA (栗原一素). Ohashi Tayu became a disciple of the Reizei family and studied waka there.
Later, she entered the Buddhist priesthood and became a Zenni (a Zen nun), Erinni (慧林尼).
She was guided by the Zen monk Ekaku HAKUIN.