Post by Mariko Shimada on Jun 20, 2012 12:08:00 GMT -5
Perhaps one of the worst misconceptions about Japanese history falls squarely on the geisha. If someone even knows what a geisha is, or at least thinks they do, then they probably believe a geisha is a high-class whore characterized by white makeup on her face and red lipstick. However, this is far from the truth. Geisha are entertainers, and carry on traditions. They sing, dance, and are well trained in the many arts, including the art of conversation.
A geisha during the feudal era was first taken in by a geisha house, and trained as a Maiko, or apprentice geisha. Every day, a Geisha is trained in how to act properly, as well as the many skills of her job. She is taught classical dances that she must perform without flaw, where nothing is left to chance and even the slightest tilt of the head or flourish of the hand is carefully choreographed. She is taught to sing classic songs and play stringed instruments such as the koto or shamisen. A geisha is taught proper calligraphy, taught jokes, taught tea ceremonies, how to serve sake (Japanese alcohol), and most importantly is taught how to converse with men. A geisha is hired as a companion, to spend time with a gentleman or group of gentleman, and to treat them like kings for a few hours.
A Maiko is characterized by wearing her hair up in a distinctive style called the “split peach”. She wears special decorative hairpins in her hair, and a brightly colored kimono. The colors of the kimono and its pattern vary depending on what season she is wearing it in, but the edges of the under-kimono seen around her neck are always a crimson red. She wears white makeup on her face and neck, but as a trade secret of the geisha, leaves a small amount of skin showing along her hairline and at the base of the neck when a woman is so covered, a small amount of skin showing in just the right place has the same allure of a woman showing a little leg, without being considered dirty or vulgar. When a Maiko becomes a full-fledged geisha, she no longer wears the makeup and hairpins, and instead of assisting a geisha in her work, she is now assisted by apprentice geishas.
The Sengoku Period saw a very dark time for all geisha. During the over-taxation, many families found themselves growing poorer by the day, and putting food on the table was nearly impossible. Sometimes, a geisha house would approach a family and offer to buy some of their daughters from them; this gave the family enough money to live on, as well as meaning fewer mouths to feed. Believing that their daughters would be taken good care of, the most desperate of families sold their daughters to these geisha houses.
The geisha house would pay for the girl’s room, food, classes, makeup, and her kimonos (she would need several very fancy kimonos, which by today’s standards would be costing thousands of dollars a piece). The girl was also allowed to select a name for herself, usually the name of a flower or other feminine things and traits. This meant that the geisha house was put in a substantial debt over just one girl after buying her from her family and then providing for her. The girl was forced to work for the geisha house as a geisha until she worked off her debt and became an independent geisha, or she was bought by a Daimyo or Taisho who would pay the debt for her. Bought girls would often be mistreated by their geisha mothers, the women who bought them, and if a geisha house were in need of money, the woman running it would not be above charging a samurai extra to sell a young Maiko’s virginity to him.
While this was a difficult time for Maiko and Geisha like the rest of Japan’s people, the geisha were also tools used by the Daimyos. Geisha were the most respected women in Japan, and thus were fairly safe to travel from one province to another. Thus, they were sometimes used as spies and even assassins. A Daimyo could send a geisha under his command to another Daimyo or a Taisho, either as an act of good will, or anonymously, and while acting as a simple entertainer, the geisha would kill her target. The worst part about it was that a Daimyo or Taisho could know very well that a geisha has come to kill him, and yet he could do nothing about it because she was such a respectable woman! A Daimyo’s only defense against a geisha sometimes was to have her murdered before she could murder him!
One mixed blessing about a geisha is that she cannot marry. Its not that she can’t be forced to marry, it’s that she can’t marry even if she wanted to. However, many independent geisha found a way around this; instead of marrying a samurai man, she would live with him, officially being his mistress but receiving a home and financial support from him the same way a wife would. Were she to bear him sons, then she would become a part of his clan as the mother of his heirs.
Ranks within the Geisha Community
Shikomi - Young girls employed as maids before they even begin their geisha training.
Minarai - Older girls who quietly serve geisha "in the field" as servants.
Han’gyoku - "Half-jewel," a term for a trainee geisha who has not yet become an apprentice.
O-shaku - "One who pours alcohol," a more experienced trainee who has not yet become an apprentice.
Maiko - An apprentice geisha who generally serves as the senior assistant to a geisha.
Geisha (Geiko in the Kyoto dialect) - Literally "performing artist," this is the title of a female entertainer who specializes in various performing arts such as playing musical instruments, singing, and dancing. Additionally they act as hostesses at parties, entertaining guests with witty conversation.
Atotori - This is a title for a senior geisha, one who has been adopted by the manager of an Okiya (geisha lodging house) to be the designated heir.
Okasan - "Mother," The title of the manager of an Okiya.
Notes
There is generally some confusion as to whether or not geisha are prostitutes. Clarity in the issue is not always easy, even in Japan, because prostitutes do attempt to pass themselves off as geisha in many instances. Additionally, certain high class courtesans, known as oiran, do wear elaborate hairstyles, makeup, and costumes which make it difficult to visually differentiate between the two
A geisha during the feudal era was first taken in by a geisha house, and trained as a Maiko, or apprentice geisha. Every day, a Geisha is trained in how to act properly, as well as the many skills of her job. She is taught classical dances that she must perform without flaw, where nothing is left to chance and even the slightest tilt of the head or flourish of the hand is carefully choreographed. She is taught to sing classic songs and play stringed instruments such as the koto or shamisen. A geisha is taught proper calligraphy, taught jokes, taught tea ceremonies, how to serve sake (Japanese alcohol), and most importantly is taught how to converse with men. A geisha is hired as a companion, to spend time with a gentleman or group of gentleman, and to treat them like kings for a few hours.
A Maiko is characterized by wearing her hair up in a distinctive style called the “split peach”. She wears special decorative hairpins in her hair, and a brightly colored kimono. The colors of the kimono and its pattern vary depending on what season she is wearing it in, but the edges of the under-kimono seen around her neck are always a crimson red. She wears white makeup on her face and neck, but as a trade secret of the geisha, leaves a small amount of skin showing along her hairline and at the base of the neck when a woman is so covered, a small amount of skin showing in just the right place has the same allure of a woman showing a little leg, without being considered dirty or vulgar. When a Maiko becomes a full-fledged geisha, she no longer wears the makeup and hairpins, and instead of assisting a geisha in her work, she is now assisted by apprentice geishas.
The Sengoku Period saw a very dark time for all geisha. During the over-taxation, many families found themselves growing poorer by the day, and putting food on the table was nearly impossible. Sometimes, a geisha house would approach a family and offer to buy some of their daughters from them; this gave the family enough money to live on, as well as meaning fewer mouths to feed. Believing that their daughters would be taken good care of, the most desperate of families sold their daughters to these geisha houses.
The geisha house would pay for the girl’s room, food, classes, makeup, and her kimonos (she would need several very fancy kimonos, which by today’s standards would be costing thousands of dollars a piece). The girl was also allowed to select a name for herself, usually the name of a flower or other feminine things and traits. This meant that the geisha house was put in a substantial debt over just one girl after buying her from her family and then providing for her. The girl was forced to work for the geisha house as a geisha until she worked off her debt and became an independent geisha, or she was bought by a Daimyo or Taisho who would pay the debt for her. Bought girls would often be mistreated by their geisha mothers, the women who bought them, and if a geisha house were in need of money, the woman running it would not be above charging a samurai extra to sell a young Maiko’s virginity to him.
While this was a difficult time for Maiko and Geisha like the rest of Japan’s people, the geisha were also tools used by the Daimyos. Geisha were the most respected women in Japan, and thus were fairly safe to travel from one province to another. Thus, they were sometimes used as spies and even assassins. A Daimyo could send a geisha under his command to another Daimyo or a Taisho, either as an act of good will, or anonymously, and while acting as a simple entertainer, the geisha would kill her target. The worst part about it was that a Daimyo or Taisho could know very well that a geisha has come to kill him, and yet he could do nothing about it because she was such a respectable woman! A Daimyo’s only defense against a geisha sometimes was to have her murdered before she could murder him!
One mixed blessing about a geisha is that she cannot marry. Its not that she can’t be forced to marry, it’s that she can’t marry even if she wanted to. However, many independent geisha found a way around this; instead of marrying a samurai man, she would live with him, officially being his mistress but receiving a home and financial support from him the same way a wife would. Were she to bear him sons, then she would become a part of his clan as the mother of his heirs.
Ranks within the Geisha Community
Shikomi - Young girls employed as maids before they even begin their geisha training.
Minarai - Older girls who quietly serve geisha "in the field" as servants.
Han’gyoku - "Half-jewel," a term for a trainee geisha who has not yet become an apprentice.
O-shaku - "One who pours alcohol," a more experienced trainee who has not yet become an apprentice.
Maiko - An apprentice geisha who generally serves as the senior assistant to a geisha.
Geisha (Geiko in the Kyoto dialect) - Literally "performing artist," this is the title of a female entertainer who specializes in various performing arts such as playing musical instruments, singing, and dancing. Additionally they act as hostesses at parties, entertaining guests with witty conversation.
Atotori - This is a title for a senior geisha, one who has been adopted by the manager of an Okiya (geisha lodging house) to be the designated heir.
Okasan - "Mother," The title of the manager of an Okiya.
Notes
There is generally some confusion as to whether or not geisha are prostitutes. Clarity in the issue is not always easy, even in Japan, because prostitutes do attempt to pass themselves off as geisha in many instances. Additionally, certain high class courtesans, known as oiran, do wear elaborate hairstyles, makeup, and costumes which make it difficult to visually differentiate between the two
