新橋踊

About this photo

This photograph shows women dancing to the shamisen, a three-stringed instrument. It appears in Nihon Fukei Fuzoku Shashincho (Photo Album of Japanese Scenery and Customs), published in 1910 (Meiji 43), with the title "Shinbashi Odori" (Shinbashi Dance) and the English caption "A Characteristic Japanese Dance." The "Shinbashi" in the title is thought to be the Shinbashi district of Tokyo, known for its geisha.

The Shinbashi geisha district is said to have begun in 1857, around today's Ginza 8-chome, when women teachers of Tokiwazu, a style of narrative song accompanied by shamisen, began to be invited to banquets at restaurants. In the Meiji era, government leaders and figures from politics and business began using Shinbashi's restaurants, and the district flourished. Shinbashi led the way in bringing in top teachers, and its geisha polished their skills in dance, song and shamisen.

In 1925 the Shinbashi Enbujo theater was built in Ginza as a stage for the Shinbashi geisha to show their arts, and it opened with the Azuma Odori dance performance. The Azuma Odori is still held at the Shinbashi Enbujo every May.

Glossary