The Secret World of the Geisha
Genevieve Long
Epoch Times New York Staff
Epoch Times
Aug 08,
2005
WORLD-CLASS ENTERTAINERS: A “Maiko,” or young Geisha named
Toshiaya (R) pours beer for guests while they enjoy the cool breeze on the
balcony of a traditional Japanese restaurant called Ikumatsu in Japan’s ancient
capital of Kyoto, in western Japan, at dusk. Geisha are prized, highly trained
entertainers and conversationalists who appear only to serve guests at the most
high-class functions and social gatherings.
Since the end of World War II, a mystique has surrounded the
Japanese Geisha in the western worldbut not a very flattering mystique. The
popular western belief and concept of a Geisha, literally translated as “one who
serves,” sprang from stories that American servicemen brought home after being
stationed abroad in Japan following the end of World War II. Wild and
unflattering rumors about the “services” provided by Geisha to male customers
seem to have taken root in the modern day western consciousness, forming an
incorrect notion that Geisha are prostitutes.
In 18th century Japan,
scores of women from different levels of societyincluding noble
familieshad already long been displaced due to different forms of social
upheaval. Many of these women were forced to wander from their homes, looking
for any means of survival. Owing to the difficult economic times and the
disparity of women’s ability to make ends meet, pleasure quarters sprung up in
different major cities, including the ancient national capital of Kyoto.
These pleasure quarters were areas for exactly what their name
suggestsdrinking, gambling, and women. Many of the socially displaced women
found a way to make a living by garnering male customers who would visit them on
a regular basis. The Geisha were among them.
ENCHANTING STYLE: Two
Japanese “Maikos” prepare to tie paper fortunes to a tree on the first business
day of the new year at Yasaka Jinja on January 9, 2005 in Kyoto, Japan. Geikos
and Maikos visit Shinto shrines at the start of the New Year to pray for good
health and good luck. The length of the sash the women are wearing, called an
“obi,” indicates their rank as apprentice Geisha, or Maiko. The traditional
Japanese dress they are wearing is called a Kimono.
By 1779, the Geisha, who were for the most part highly
educated, cultured, and accomplished musicians and singers, rivaled the
popularity of courtesans in the brothels. An edict was created to put a code of
conduct, or kenban, into place to control the activities of the Geisha and
reduce the level of competition they were bringing to the courtesans.
Some of the rules imposed on Geisha during the 18th century included
strict curfews and areas where they were allowed to entertain customers, as well
as clothing and hairstyle regulations to identify them and set them apart from
courtesans. Geisha were also prohibited from entertaining guests alone, and it
was required that they were hired only in groups of two or three for parties and
social gatherings.
Any offense regarding their moral code of conduct was
taken seriously, and offending Geisha were prohibited from working for one or
two days.
The kenban stuck and ushered in a new era, paving the way for
a more refined Geisha class. The women were hired for parties and special
occasions to entertain with conversation and the skillful singing, playing of
musical instruments, or dancing. This is the form that the few remaining Geisha
in modern-day Japan still observe.
CAPTIVATING DANCERS: An apprentice
Geisha, or Maiko, performs a dance at the Expo Plaza during Japan Week "Maiko
Hospitality" at the 2005 World Exposition on June 7, 2005 in Nagakute, Japan.
The genuine Maiko is an apprentice Geisha who undergoes a five-year period of
training during which she will learn the various “gei” (arts) such as dancing,
singing and music before she becomes a Geisha.
Japan’s last major bastion of Geisha is in the old capital of
Kyoto (the capital was later moved to Tokyo, also called Edo). They can
sometimes be glimpsed walking down the street or making appearances at extremely
special occasions of national or regional significance, displaying and
preserving the rich art and dance of the Japanese culture.
What is a
Geisha? Geisha is a word that consists of two characters borrowed from the
Chinese language, gei or art, and sha or person. The literal translation is an
artful person, and is also described as women of arts. Geisha are women who are
highly trained in the traditional Japanese arts such as dance, music, singing,
and conversation, among others.
What is a Maiko? Maiko literally
translates as mai or dance, and ko or child, to dancing child, and is also
referred to as dancing girl. Maiko are apprentice Geisha who undergo a period of
training that generally lasts 5 years. During this time she learns the various
arts of her trade, usually specializing in one or two areas, such as a specific
musical instrument.
What is a Geiko? Geiko is a colloquial word used in
the dialect Kansai region of Japan in the districts of Kyoto. It is
predominately used by Geisha in Kyoto, the ancient capital of Japan. Kyoto is
the region where Geisha originated, and remains the predominate area of Japan
where modern-day Geisha train and live out their careers.
Are Geisha and
Maiko prostitutes? No,Geisha and Maiko are part of an ancient profession
that revolves around preserving traditional Japanese arts of singing, dance,
music, and entertaining at parties with their skilled conversation.
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From WUNRN university lecture series on Geisha after on-site
study in Japan.
JAPANESE GEISHA
The Geisha of Japan, with her stylized
makeup, elaborate coiffure, elegant
kimono, and artful, coquettish behavior,
has long fascinated observors
around the globe, and yet she remains a truly,
uniquely JAPANESE phenomenon.
The world of geisha started historically in the
seventh century, and
continues today with new constructs and a much different
market in Japan.
The geisha in her purest form is an ENTERTAINER, a dancer,
musician,
hostess, and symbol of a treasured artform in Japan, very much
dedicated to
male pleasure, power, and privilege.
I have long studied
the geisha, and have been fascinated by the symbolism of
geisha, which is
truly only fully appreciated and accessed in Japanese
culture. Though the
geisha may seem an elusive feminine fantasy to western
men, she is desired
and ecountered in her own special world, by Japanese men
who embrace the
values and historical context she represents.
Two years ago, I was in
Japan on a mission, and spent extended time in
Kyoto. This was my second
visit in Kyoto. I asked to be privileged to meet
with geisha, with mamasan
who run geisha houses, and with a maiko or trainee
geisha. The path to this
experience was complicated and challenging, but I
was able to learn a great
deal in the process.
We do not have an institution comparble to geisha in
modern Western
societies.
Geisha means ARTS PERSON. They are not in
their truest sense, prostitutes,
but highly trained entertainers and with
sexual favors that may be elusive.
There are more books now on the geisha
that reveal the myths and realities,
and bring the geisha experience to
modern day world, as does Memoirs of a
Geisha, by Arthur Golden. A
center of the "flower and willow world of
geisha," has always been the Gion
district of Kyoto, Japan. Geisha emerged
in the "pleasure quarters" of
historical Japan, but it was in the middle
l800's that walled entertainment
districts emerged in Japan's three largest
cities, and the luxury of these
quarters was fueled by the new wealth of
merchants and a rising privileged
class, particularly of men. The pleasure
quarters included courtesans in
brothels, and the highest rank entertainers
were geisha. The "flower
and willow world" is a poetic term for pleasure
quarters. Geisha had
training, and sophisticated, cultured behavior, an
elitist level of
courtesans.
Interestingly, the original GEISHA, meaning ARTS PERSONS,
were male. Women
geisha began to appear around the mid l700's. The peak of
geisha was in the
l800's, before Japanese modernity took a western
turn.
It is essential for geisha survival, to have a continuing monied
market, and
new dimensions of business such as travel posters and events,
advertising,
and diplomatic activity symbolism. It is also necessary for the
geisha now,
as in the past, to maintain a strong web of relationships among
members of
her community. They support the geisha in her individual
subculture.
There have been many changes. In the past, a young girl might
be sold to a
geisha house, while today recruitment is often voluntary and not
indentured.
But, what has stayed very much the same, is that the geisha house
has a huge
investment in a geisha from the beginning of her training, through
her
emergence as a full geisha and with very expensive costumes and
skills
developement. An older geisha may have a "little sister" whom she
mentors
through the stages of geisha rites of passage. There is,
indeed,
competititon among geisha, and among geisha houses.
In earlier
days, there was a more clearly defined loss of virginity, called
mizuage,
that would go to the highest bidder, and launch the young maiko
geisha into
full womanhood. As the marker of this significant change in her
life, red
fabric is placed in the deflowered geisha's "split
peach."
hairstyle.
Historically, the geisha would hope for a steady
patron, or DANNA, who would
provide her with financial support and consistent
patronage.
The geisha is a protected symbol in Japan, much more endeared
by men than
women. The idea of charm differes in cultures. The American
businessman
attending a formal business dinner with geisha in attendance, and
at great
cost, and to impress the visitor, may find through his American
perspective,
that the geisha is too formal and artificial, that her makeup is
too thick,
her costume too voluminous, her voice and laughter too irritating
in pich
and childlike qualities, and her movements too restrained, too
strange and
formal, not at all spontaneous. She will not be a symbol of lust
and romance
to the American, but she may captivate the Japanese men present.
In Japan,
the geisha is assuredly a status symbol.
The geisha must
exhibit examplary etiquette, be also in control of her
behavior, be totally
gracious, charming, and elegant. She must hide her
feelings. She must please
and be enchanting and talented to her audience.
She must create demand for
her presence. She must be attentive and demure to
all who buy her
services.
Geisha will remain in Japan as long as there are Japanese men
with money
desireing to participate in the world that only geisha can create,
to show
off their refinement and sophistication, their entertainer skills,
their
mystical feminine allure, and their form of poetry of the
past.
There may be modern day entertainers and prostitutes, bar hostesses
who may
be secretaries by day or do other work and want to earn more money,
and
there are trafficked women, disco dancers, escort services. But, the
geisha
is in a league all by herself, in some way untouchable, distanced from
other
women and fulfilling the fantasies of Japanese elite men. The geisha
remains
a symbol of Japan, and her image tantalizes the minds of some
Japanese men,
because her access means not only a solid historical tie, but
also that they
are privileged and powerful, and she is their symbol, and
brings the past to
the present, their patriarchal control of, and yet
vulnerability to, in a
very expensive female entertainer and uniquely
seductive sexual symbol.
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