1.
highest-ranking courtesan; oiran of the top rank
The most elite rank of courtesan in Edo-period pleasure quarters, distinguished by exceptional beauty, cultural refinement, and artistic accomplishments.
太夫は教養と美貌を兼ね備えていた。
The tayuu combined refinement and beauty.
吉原の太夫は最高位の遊女として特別な待遇を受けた。
Tayuu of Yoshiwara received special treatment as the highest-ranking courtesans.
太夫になるには和歌や茶道、書道など多くの芸事に通じていなければならなかった。
To become a tayuu, one had to be well-versed in many arts including waka poetry, tea ceremony, and calligraphy.
2.
lead performer; master narrator or puppeteer
A title for high-ranking performers in traditional Japanese arts, especially the lead chanter in bunraku puppet theater and certain Noh performers.
文楽の太夫が語り始めた。
The bunraku narrator began to chant.
人間国宝の太夫の語りは圧巻だった。
The performance of the narrator designated as a Living National Treasure was magnificent.
文楽では太夫が物語を語り、三味線弾きが伴奏し、人形遣いが人形を操る三位一体の芸能である。
Bunraku is a performing art in which the tayuu narrates the story, the shamisen player accompanies, and the puppeteers manipulate the puppets — a trinity of arts.
An important term in Japanese cultural history with two distinct but related meanings. Both senses share the idea of being at the top of a hierarchy.
Also written as 大夫. The alternate reading だゆう exists but たゆう is standard.
HISTORICAL CONTEXT:
The courtesan sense dates to the Edo period (1603-1868). 太夫 were the elite of the pleasure quarters, particularly 吉原 in Edo and 島原 in Kyoto. Unlike lower-ranking courtesans, they could refuse clients and were celebrated for their cultural accomplishments. The 太夫 rank gradually disappeared by the mid-Edo period as the 花魁 system replaced it.
The performer sense remains alive in 文楽 (bunraku puppet theater), where the 太夫 is the chanter who narrates the entire story.
SIMILAR WORDS:
- 花魁: oiran — high-ranking courtesans who succeeded the 太夫 system
- 遊女: courtesan; prostitute — the general term for women in the pleasure quarters
- 語り手: narrator — a general term for a storyteller in any context