Geisha (Writing Assignment Two)

Geisha are highly skilled female Japanese entertainers. Although they are an iconic image of Japanese culture, not that much is known about them. When it came time to write this research paper, I though it might be cool to learn more about the mysterious world of the geisha. I wasn’t expecting it to be very difficult, but while I did find a large amount of information, it was all very broad. I read that geisha in training take classes, but I couldn’t find out what kind of classes they took or where they took them. Much about being a geisha is kept secret.

Geisha history dates back to the 1700’s, and while there have been similar women throughout Japanese history, geisha have the distinction of being entertainers only. It seems to be an extremely common misconception that geisha are just highly paid prostitutes. This is most likely because there have been many prostitutes who have impersonated geisha and because they were closely associated with the prostitutes of the “Pleasure Districts”. Pleasure Districts were government sanctioned areas where prostitution was legal during the Endo period (1603 to 1868). Operating as a prostitute outside of these areas was against the law. Early in their history geisha were confined to the so called Pleasure Districts along with female entertainers who were prostitutes, but the geisha never sold sex (Immortal Geisha/History).

Geisha sell nothing but their skills as dancers, musicians, conversationalists, and artists. They are hired to create an atmosphere of luxury with their beauty and grace; nothing more is expected of them from their clients. Geisha women are single. If a geisha chooses to marry; she can no longer be a geisha. She is supposed to give the illusion of obtainability, while never actually being obtainable. Although it is less common in modern times, geisha sometimes have patrons. These patrons are called danna. Although a danna financially supports a geisha and is likely to have a closer relationship with her, she is still never expected to be intimate with him (Wikipedia/Geisha).

Geisha were usually trained from a very young age, but now it’s not uncommon for a women to start later in her life. The first stage of training consists of becoming accustomed to the world of geisha culture by performing as a maid while living in the okiya (geisha house). The girls go to classes during the day and wait on the geisha at night. When the trainees have become skilled enough in geisha arts, they are brought to parties and tea houses. This is so they can learn by observing a geisha at work with a client; I imagine that it is easier to learn some things, like conversation skills, by seeing them in action. This is a brief stage in the geisha’s training, and typically only lasts a month. After that, the geisha in training becomes what is called a maiko. Maiko are the white faced and brightly dressed young women that are most commonly associated with geisha culture. Maiko have “older sister” geisha who teach them what it is actually like to be a geisha by taking them along with them to visit clients. It can take as little as five months, or as much as five years for a maiko to become a full geisha. Once a maiko becomes a geisha she takes a new name and charges full price for her services. This is how she will live until she retires. (Wikipedia/Geisha)

The most outstanding characteristic of a geisha is her appearance. Geisha always wear elaborate, beautiful, and expensive robes called kimonos. These kimonos are hand painted and are works of art in their own right. The style and color of a geisha’s kimonos changes to illustrate her status. Maiko wear bright, flamboyant kimono whereas older geisha wear more demure colors and patterns. Footwear also changes throughout a geisha’s career. Maiko wear extremely tall wooden sandals with a slanted front and geisha wear shorter, flat sandals. Their hair is styled up in what is called the shimada style and is adorned by many combs and accessories (Wikipedia/Geisha). Maiko wear the iconic painted white face and red lips almost constantly, but after she has been a full geisha for three years she will only wear such heavy make-up for special occasions. The process of putting on this make-up is very complicated and can take more than an hour to achieve (Immortal Geisha/Make-Up). I watched a video on YouTube of a geisha applying her make-up, it was heavily edited and it was still 12 minutes long. It was fascinating to watch the process though.

Although the world of geisha is filled with beauty, I imagine it’s also very uncomfortable. Hours upon hours of make-up application and hair styling cannot be fun, and I read on Immortal Geisha that after they get their hair done that have to sleep with their necks on special pedestals so they don’t mess up their hair and have to get it styled all over again. They walk in flimsy sandals that are more than half a foot tall to keep their kimono from dragging on the ground. Relationships could be hard to obtain when you’re living in a house full of women with whom you are competing for clients, and the only outsiders you see are those clients.

After doing all this research, I’m still left with one unanswered question: Why does a woman choose to become a geisha? It takes so much training, preparation, and pain, and what do they get in the end? I read on a woman’s blog that she traveled to Japan and met an elderly former geisha. The former geisha told her of her fond memories of being a geisha and I wondered if that was all she had to show for her time spent as a geisha. I still find geisha to be interesting and beautiful, but I also still wonder what they get out of it and why they do it.

Sources:

Naomi Graham-Diaz. “History of the Geisha, Part One: 1100AD - 1750AD.” Immortal Geisha. October 2001. Immortal Geisha. 11 September 2008. http://www.immortalgeisha.com/history_01.php.

Naomi Graham-Diaz. “Make-Up of Geisha and Maiko.” Immortal Geisha. October 2001. Immortal Geisha. 11 September 2008. http://www.immortalgeisha.com/makeup_01.ph.

Wikipeadia “Geisha.” 29 August 2008. Wikipedia. 11 September 2008. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geisha.