Oiran (
花魁) was a specific category of high ranking 
courtesan in 
Japanese history. Divided into a number of ranks within this category, 
oiran were considered – both in social terms and in the entertainment they provided – to be above common 
prostitutes, known as 
yūjo (
遊女, lit. 'woman of pleasure'). Though 
oiran by definition also engaged in prostitution, they were distinguished by their skills in the traditional arts, with the higher-ranking 
oiran having a degree of choice in which customers they took, and the highest-ranking 
oiran, known as 
tayū, 
not engaging in sex work at all. The term 
oiran originated in 
Yoshiwara, the 
red light district of 
Edo in the 1750s, and is applied to all ranks of high level courtesans in historical Japan.