female entertainer and prostitute in historical Japan
Archaic term for a woman who performed music, danced, and also engaged in prostitution, often associated with the pleasure quarters of the Edo period or earlier.
Ukareme performed songs and dances in the pleasure quarters of the Edo period.
Standard kanji form for this historical term.
Variant spelling using 浮れ instead of 浮かれ; less common but attested.
Compound of 浮かれ (ukare, 'merry, buoyant', from 浮かれる) and 女 (me, 'woman'). The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the term likely referred to women who entertained with music and dance in a lively, floating-world context.