noun
geisha house; geisha agency
A business that manages geisha and arranges their engagements, providing a base where they prepare and from which they are dispatched.
京都の花街には多くの置屋がある。
There are many geisha houses in the geisha districts of Kyoto.
彼女は置屋に所属する芸妓だ。
She is a geisha affiliated with a geisha house.
Compound of 置く (oku, 'to place, set') and 屋 (ya, 'shop, establishment'), literally 'placing house', referring to a place where geisha are stationed and dispatched.