Gion
Geisha district in Kyoto, Japan
About
Gion (祇園) is a district of Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto, Japan, originating as an entertainment district in the Sengoku period, in front of Yasaka Shrine (Gion Shrine). The district was built to accommodate the needs of travellers and visitors to the shrine. It eventually evolved to become one of the most exclusive and well-known geisha districts in all of Japan. Gion is the Japanese translation (via Chinese Qiyuan) of the Buddhist term Jetavana. Yasaka Shrine, located in this district is the center of the Gion faith.
The geisha in Kyoto do not refer to themselves as geisha, instead using the local term 'geiko'. While the term geisha means "artist" or "person of the arts", the more direct term geiko means essentially "a woman of art".
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More to see within walking distance
Kyoto
City in the Kansai region of Japan
0.7 mi away
Honnō-ji Incident
1582 attempted assassination of Oda Nobunaga
1.2 mi away
Kiyomizu-dera
Buddhist temple in Kyoto, Japan
0.8 mi away
Battle of Toba–Fushimi
1868 battle of the Boshin War in Fushimi, Kyoto, Japan
0.7 mi away
Mimizuka
Memorial to sliced noses in Kyoto, Japan
0.9 mi away
Hōkō-ji (Kyoto)
Buddhist temple in Kyoto, Japan
0.8 mi awayPlaces to eat nearby
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