Tsukasa Tayu (司太夫)
TSUKASA Tayu, whose real name was Yukie NAKAGAWA, was Shimabara Tayu (a high ranking courtesan of Shimabara District of Kyoto). She was born in Yamashina Ward, Kyoto City. At one time, she worked as a maiko (apprentice geisha) and was called "Namiko," in Gion Kobu (the largest entertainment area in Kyoto).
Since her infancy, she learned classical Japanese dance, tea ceremony, flower arrangement and koto music among others, and after graduating from junior high school, she joined a yakata (okiya or geisha dwelling) at Gion Kobu to get training and at the age of 16 she became maiko.
After terminating the term of the service, she received the offer of the owner of "Wachigaiya," a yakata and ochaya (teahouse where maiko or geisha perform their accomplishments) in Shimabara District, who proposed the post of Tayu, saying, 'one of our Tayu left out our house, wouldn't you like to be Tayu?' and in this way she became Tayu at the age of 23 and announced herself as "Tsukasa Tayu."
At present, besides her profession of Tayu, she performed on TV, radio, and lecture presentations. In 2001, she published a newspaper "Kottai" (term of Tayu specifically used in the Shimabara District), and although at the beginning the paper was distributed only to a limited number of readers, its reputation had been gradually spread across the country by word of mouth. In December of the same year, she resuscitated an annual festival "Mochitsuki" (rice cake making festival) in Shimabara, after a 12-year absence.
References
Editorial Department, Recruit Works Co., Ltd. "Omotenashi no Genryu: Nihon no Dento ni Service no Honshitsu wo Saguru" (Origin of 'Omotenashi' (hospitality): Exploring the essence of Service in the Japanese tradition), Eiji Press Inc.: December 25, 2007, ISBN 4862760333 (an interview in Lecture 3 'Hanamachi' - entertainment area).
Appearance on TV.
She appeared as a guest on a program titled "Shohei KUWABARA's Omoshiro Kyoto Kentei" (fun test on Kyoto).