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50 AMAZING FACTS ABOUT GEISHA EVERYBODY OUGHT TO KNOW!

Real Life Geishas

Young Maiko girls applying their ruby red lipstick. To prevent their elaborate and time consuming hair styles from falling out, Maiko and Geisha have to sleep on a wooden pillow a few inches from the ground called Takamakura.

The World of the geisha

Geisha often get bald spots on the top of their scalp where their hair was rigorously pulled into a central bun. In Geisha culture this is seen as a symbol of perseverance and endurance. Traditionally their faces were painted white to illuminate their beauty in the candle light. Apprentice Geisha are only allowed to paint their bottom lip red in the first year of training. Geisha have to sleep on a elevated wooden pillow called a takamakura to prevent their time consuming hair styles from falling out.

Just wrote a review of your site here: Impressive post, ive been always looking for different info regarding JP and the Geisha and i must admit the way you write this blog post. Thanks and keep it up. The geisha name also lost some status during this time because prostitutes began referring to themselves as "geisha girls" to American military men. About a year later, they were allowed to reopen.

The few women who returned to the geisha areas decided to reject Western influence and revert to traditional ways of entertainment and life. After Japan lost the war, geisha dispersed and the profession was in shambles. When they regrouped during the Occupation and began to flourish in the s during Japan's postwar economic boom, the geisha world changed. In modern Japan, girls are not sold into indentured service.

History of Geisha

Geisha (芸者) geiko (芸子), or geigi (芸妓) are Japanese women who entertain through performing the ancient traditions of art. The distinctive white face, red lips and elaborately decorated hairstyle of the Geisha is an enduring image portrayed throughout the globe as the.

Nowadays, a geisha's sex life is her private affair. There were many rumors that stated before the war, a maiko's virginity would be auctioned the original " mizuage ". In her book Geisha, a Life , Mineko Iwasaki said: But I existed in a world apart, a special realm whose mission and identity depended on preserving the time-honored traditions of the past. At the pinnacle of the complex geisha ranking system are the grand dowagers of Kyoto.

The Gokagai of Kyoto are its five geisha districts, [25] also known as hanamachi "flower towns". Gion Kobu , Pontocho and Kamishichiken have the highest status; [26] they are very expensive and are frequented by powerful businessmen and politicians [9] Gion Kobu is sometimes seen as having the very highest ranking. As reported by Dalby from her impressions in [27] Geiko from the other two hanamachi Gion Higashi and Miyagawa Cho have high prestige but are considered to be one rank lower.

Traditionally, Geisha began their training at a young age. Some girls were bonded to geisha houses okiya as children. Daughters of geisha were often brought up as geisha themselves, usually as the successor atotori, meaning "heir" or "heiress" in this particular situation or daughter-role musume-bun to the okiya.

A maiko is an apprentice and is therefore bonded under a contract to her okiya. The okiya supplies her with food, board, kimono, obi , and other tools of her trade. Her training is very expensive and her debt must be repaid to the okiya with the earnings she makes. This repayment may continue after the maiko becomes a full-fledged geisha and only when her debts are settled is she permitted to move out to live and work independently.

This is a way in which she will gain insights of the job, and seek out potential clients. Although minarai attend ozashiki , they do not participate at an advanced level.

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Their kimono , more elaborate than a geiko's, are intended to do the talking for them. Minarai can be hired for parties but are usually uninvited yet welcomed guests at parties that their onee-san attends. They only charge a third of the usual fee. Minarai generally work with a particular tea house Minarai-jaya learning from the okaa-san literally "mother", the proprietress of the house.

From her, they would learn techniques such as conversation and gaming, which would not be taught to them in school. This stage lasts only about a month or so.

After a short period the final stage of training begins, and the students are now called "maiko", rather than minarai. Maiko literally "dance girl" are apprentice geisha, and this stage can last for up to 5 years. Maiko learn from their senior maiko and geiko mentors. The onee-san , any maiko or geiko who is senior to a girl, teaches her maiko everything about working in the hanamachi.

The onee-san will teach her proper ways of serving tea, playing shamisen , dancing, casual conversation and more. There are three major elements of a maiko's training. The first is the formal arts training. This takes place in special geisha schools which are found in every hanamachi. The second element is the entertainment training which the maiko learns at various tea houses and parties by observing her onee-san.

The third is the social skill of navigating the complex social web of the hanamachi. This is done on the streets. Formal greetings, gifts, and visits are key parts of any social structure in Japan and for a maiko, they are crucial for her to build the support network she needs to survive as a geisha. Maiko are considered one of the great sights of Japanese tourism, and look very different from fully qualified geisha.

They are at the peak of traditional Japanese femininity. The scarlet-fringed collar of a maiko's kimono hangs very loosely in the back to accentuate the nape of the neck, which is considered a primary erotic area in Japanese sexuality. She wears the same white makeup for her face on her nape, leaving two or sometimes three stripes of bare skin exposed. Her kimono is bright and colourful with an elaborately tied obi hanging down to her ankles.

She takes very small steps and wears traditional wooden shoes called okobo which stand nearly ten centimeters high. The " Nihongami " hairstyle with "kanzashi" hair-ornamentation strips is most closely associated with maiko, [29] who spend hours each week at the hairdresser and sleep on holed-pillows to preserve the elaborate styling. Around the age of 20—21, the maiko is promoted to a full-fledged geisha in a ceremony called erikae turning of the collar. Geisha remain as such until they retire. The biggest industry in Japan is not shipbuilding, producing cultured pearls, or manufacturing transistor radios or cameras.

The term geisha literally translates to "entertainer". Some prostitutes refer to themselves as "geisha", but they are not. A geisha's sex and love life is usually distinct from her professional life. A successful geisha can entertain her male customers with music, dance, and conversation. Geishas are not submissive and subservient, but in fact they are some of the most financially and emotionally successful and strongest women in Japan, and traditionally have been so.

Geisha learn the traditional skills of dance and instruments and hold high social status. Geisha are single women, though they may have lovers or boyfriends whom they have personally picked, who support them financially. There is currently no western equivalent for a geisha—they are truly the most impeccable form of Japanese art. The appeal of a high-ranking geisha to her typical male guest has historically been very different from that of his wife.

The ideal geisha showed her skill, while the ideal wife was modest. The ideal geisha seemed carefree, the ideal wife somber and responsible. Historically, geisha did sometimes marry their clients, but marriage necessitated retirement, as there were never married geisha. Geisha may gracefully flirt with their guests, but they will always remain in control of the hospitality. Over their years of apprenticeship they learn to adapt to different situations and personalities, mastering the art of the hostess.

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Women in the geisha society are some of the most successful businesswomen in Japan. In the geisha society, women run everything. Without the impeccable business skills of the female tea house owners, the world of geisha would cease to exist. The tea house owners are entrepreneurs, whose service to the geisha is highly necessary for the society to run smoothly. Infrequently, men take contingent positions such as hair stylists, [35] dressers dressing a maiko requires considerable strength and accountants, [18] but men have a limited role in geisha society.

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The geisha system was founded, actually, to promote the independence and economic self-sufficiency of women. And that was its stated purpose, and it actually accomplished that quite admirably in Japanese society, where there were very few routes for women to achieve that sort of independence. The majority of women were wives who did not work outside of their familial duties. Becoming a geisha was a way for women to support themselves without becoming a wife.

Thus, some argue [ who? Historically, Japanese feminists have seen geisha as exploited women, but some modern geisha see themselves as liberated feminists: Isn't that what feminists are? Many experienced geisha are successful enough to choose to live independently. Before the twentieth century, geisha training began when a girl was around the age of six. Now, girls must go to school until they are 15 years old and have graduated from middle school and then make the personal decision to train to become a geisha.

Young women who wish to become geisha now most often begin their training after high school or even college. Many more women begin their careers in adulthood. Geisha still study traditional instruments: By watching other geisha, and with the assistance of the owner of the geisha house, apprentices also become skilled dealing with clients and in the complex traditions surrounding selecting and wearing kimono , a floor length silk robe embroidered with intricate designs which is held together by a sash at the waist which is called an obi. In the s, there were over 80, geisha in Japan, [45] [46] but today, there are far fewer.

Most common are sightings of tourists who pay a fee to be dressed up as a maiko. A sluggish economy, declining interest in the traditional arts, the exclusive nature of the flower and willow world, and the expense of being entertained by geisha have all contributed to the tradition's decline.

The traditional arts

Next the eyes and eyebrows are drawn in. Archived from the original on Just last month in October, she was joined by one of her maiko and three other geisha from Kochi and Ehime prefectures on a trip to New York to perform at the first Hanaakari project abroad. During the period of the Allied occupation of Japan , local women called "Geisha girls" worked as prostitutes. The okiya supplies her with food, board, kimono, obi , and other tools of her trade.

Now they are flat fees charged by the hour. Since the s, non-Japanese have also attempted to become geishas. Liza Dalby , an American national worked briefly with geisha in the Pontocho district of Kyoto as part of her doctorate research, although she did not formally debut as a geisha herself. The district of Gion in Kyoto, Japan does not accept non-Japanese women to train for becoming a geisha.

Any other districts require permanent residency for foreigners to work legally as geisha as there are no visa for this kind of job available. Meanwhile, when World War II began, geisha started to decline; they had to close their okiya geisha houses , and the teahouses and bars had to close shop as well.

50 AMAZING FACTS ABOUT GEISHA EVERYBODY OUGHT TO KNOW!

Nonetheless, when the war ended, the returning geisha made it a point to reinstate their traditional standards as highly-skilled entertainers, and at the same time, they proposed increased rights for their profession. Geisha are NOT prostitutes. They are and always will be highly-skilled entertainers.

It helps to note anyway that prostitution is illegal in Japan ever since Should they ever fall in love and want to marry, then sometimes they must retire because geisha most especially in Kyoto are expected to be single. In fact, a lot of girls have to persuade their parents today in order to let them become one.

Memoirs of a Geisha. This is NOT true. As you visit Japan, take note of the below points to help you quickly differentiate a geisha from their apprentice maiko:. Maiko have their hair styled elaborately every week. This style is called as eri-ashi. Wanna try and wear a kimono? There are kimono rental shops in Tokyo! Read here to learn more. To help you identify and spot these tourists who are only dressing up, see below the several features that they will possess. They only have about 3 months of training and again — they are NOT real geisha nor maiko. In fact, most of the geisha experiences that you might have actually read in other travel blogs are actually experiences with a furisode-san.

How do the Japanese feel about these people? A mix of approval and disapproval. Approval since they help gather interest in real geisha; disapproval since they deem it as disrespectful to the real tradition. I will update this section soon with relevant links for booking legit geisha. It is said that there are about geisha in Kyoto; but the exact numbers there as well as in other areas are unknown to us outsiders.

I was told that there exists a male geisha in Japan. Men in these districts are rather mainly artisans, dressers, or wig makers.

Understanding the Geisha of Japan

In order to keep up with the times, some okiya have been accepting foreign nationals as geisha. So far there are only a few of them that have been admitted. Below are their Japanese names, and the data below is as of Kimicho just started last October and I personally had the pleasure of meeting and talking to her!

Read about it here!