Kiyoha - Sakuran
PLAYER
[journal] tsunderes
[age] 19, May 21st
[previous characters] None right now! And just to note, this app is identical to the old one minus the canon point, wish and misc. notes.
CHARACTER
[series] Sakuran
[full name] Kiyoha [Formerly Tomeki and O-Rin]
[age] 21
[gender] Female
[canon point] After her miscarriage (movie-only).
[reference] This and this prove that the series is real, but as obscure as it is, a personal summary is a better resource.
[personality]
If you think of a high-class Japanese courtesan, you're more likely to think of Memoirs of a Geisha's Sayuri rather than anything like Kiyoha. Everything that Sayuri is, Kiyoha is not. Kiyoha is a strong woman with a smart mouth, and won't take crap from anyone, customer or not. Her rudeness gets her into trouble quite often, as does her coarse language. She is a low-bred peasant woman in reality and hasn't changed her ways much from her life as a child. She speaks her mind freely and lives passionately, not really giving a damn about the consequences of doing so.
Yet, Kiyoha doesn't come off as cold, necessarily. She's very passionate and never lives through muted emotions. Everything she experiences she experiences with all of her senses and herself. When she's angry, she'll fly into a rage that leads to kicking a fellow courtesan in the face, and when she's sad, she'll run away from the quarters to go cry in a river. Despite being an oiran, which is hardly a good or happy life, Kiyoha is determined to not let her situation put a damper on her spirit.
These qualities may not sound ideal for an oiran, but Kiyoha is actually quite popular with men. One person in the manga comments that she's very lovable in private. Kiyoha's honesty with herself and other people is something that is either very charming or extremely off-putting. Either way, Kiyoha carries herself with confidence. If she likes a customer, she says that they will come back as long as they have the money, and if she doesn't like them, she will let them know--perhaps with sake to the face.
But in a more public setting, she shows her qualities more befitting of the title of "oiran." She is very charming when she wants to be and she's more than able to manipulate her customers, though she rarely does so. She is not good at singing, and not that great at dancing, but her oiran qualities come with her intellect. Despite being a peasant-girl by birth, Kiyoha has a sharp wit and is more than ready to exchange words with her customers. As if to match that, her strongest hobby is chess, which she can beat even masters at. Kiyoha does like to have fun and is more than willing to play along with the dances, drinking games or other fancies as long as they interest her.
But this is Kiyoha the oiran, and the outward Kiyoha. Inside, Kiyoha is a woman full of doubt and the feeling of broken dreams. When she was bought as a child, she swore to leave the quarter when cherry blossoms bloomed at one of the shrines, which was extremely unlikely at the time. As she grew older, Kiyoha grew more bitter, and eventually pushed such a dream aside. She does not really believe that cherry blossoms will ever grow on that tree, but she can't completely discard the childhood dream. Similarly, her first love ended in heartbreak when she realized that her lover did not truly return her feelings because of her status as a prostitute. These two events essentially crushed all of her hope to ever leave, which she has accepted with resignation. Again, she doesn't think the life of a courtesan is all that bad.
Inside her fiery exterior, Kiyoha is quite nice to those close to her. She is willing to take on heavy responsibilities for her friends, even though she will deny such loyalty to them. Her friendships are very valuable to her, though she'll never truly admit it out of sheer stubbornness. She's certainly a practitioner of tough love, though and doesn't really see anything wrong with being physical even with people she likes. This especially goes for the apprentices, who she's especially harsh to, though not out of any worry that they'll take her position. She's secretly quite maternal and caring, but the bitterness of her position has tainted it.
Still, Kiyoha is an oiran unlike any other. Because she lives so passionately, she attracts attention both good and bad. Some people are entranced by that quality, but Kiyoha makes just as many enemies as she does friends.
[orientation] Based on her attraction to Soujirou and eventually to Seiji, without any evidence of inclination towards women, it's pretty certain that Kiyoha is heterosexual.
[wish] To leave Yoshiwara when the cherry tree at the Inari shrine blooms.
[requested house] Shakuraku Household
[misc notes] Kiyoha's canon is a combination of the manga + movie, as detailed here and approved here.
NOTE: Kiyoha was in the game previously and had quite a bit of in-game canon, which I would like to keep! She merely went home for about a year, getting engaged and having a miscarriage. Sad times.
SAMPLES
[sample 1# - smut drabble]
There had never been an oiran like Kiyoha before, and there would probably never be another one after her. She was not content to lie, even when it came to the job suited to the shadows. The concept of an oiran was laughable, really. She was a prostitute, and she damn well knew it. Even so, she wasn't going to let some man pay his way with her and be bad at it, even if he never came back. The house mother hated that quality, but like she had said to her, if she liked the man, he would come back.
She liked him.
He was clever without being pretentious and kind without being so transparent. Kiyoha could appreciate that honesty. His hakama was already on the ground, since she had offered to suck his cock in that deep way--the fact that she had a reputation for this always amused her--and he awkwardly fumbled across her kimono and her skin as he waited for her mouth to drift lower.
It was impolite to laugh, so instead she led him. She knew that he was new the the quarter, only a simple laborer. But that was alright. Sometimes they were more entertaining and knowledgeable than the nobility she entertained. There was no need for words, since he had done nothing to please her, but she took his fingers in her mouth and gently sucked on those as well. Her mouth moved away from his fingers, carefully tracing along his lightly muscled arm. She kissed, licked and nipped his skin gently with her always coquettish smile.
Her brightly painted red lips parted when they came to his cheek, and she whispered, only for him to hear.
"Are you sure you can afford me, dear customer?"
He only fumbled over his words again, but when she kissed his ear, there was silence once more. Even if he had to work for two weeks to pay for this visit, she would make it worth his while.
[sample 2#]
[Considerable fumbling later, the video cuts on, showing a very beautiful Japanese woman. She's already used to this game, but doesn't seem to be happy about it.
...Well, part of it.]
Feh. If I were to be sold to another house, I'm fine with that. I was tired of the old lady of Tamagiku long ago, so to my wonderfully generous new mother, I thank you for purchasing this low and dishonorable woman. [Can you hear the sarcasm? It's positively dripping.]
My, but most of you, you're quite loud about this. You have been sold and bought--you should be grateful for such a blessing. It is better to serve as a whore than one who cleans the sewers.
[She puts her hand in her chin staring at the camera without any amusement] What a curious place. I thought myself dreaming, yet here I am, as filthy as a kamuro! Bah. I have worked hard to become Higurashi-oiran, I should not have to start over so soon.