Definition of "oiran" [oiran]

• A high-status courtesan (noun)

Wiktionary.org : Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License

• "Shimabara used to be a licensed quarter where women known as oiran and tayu courtesans, high-class prostitutes plied their trade, though they were accomplished in the traditional arts as well."
• ""Centered on the lives of the oiran, elite prostitutes working in official red light districts of the Edo era, Sakuran has been a surprise hit with Japan's style-conscious young women," writes Bruce Wallace."
• "Anna Tsuchiya plays an oiran (courtesan), and her outfits are not those of geisha (artisan), period or otherwise."