Geisha

Women dressed as maiko (apprentice geisha) in Kyoto, Japan

Characters for Geisha, lit. "person of the arts".

Geisha (芸者, geisha, literally art-person, or person of the arts) are traditional Japanese artist-entertainers. In the Kansai region the terms Geiko (芸妓) and, for apprentice geisha, Maiko (舞妓) have also been used since the Meiji Restoration. Geisha were very common in the 18th and 19th centuries; they still exist today, although their numbers are dwindling.

Terms

"Geisha," pronounced /ˈgeɪ ʃa/ ("gei-" rhymes with "may") is the most familiar term to English speakers, and the most commonly used within Japan as well. Like all Japanese nouns, there are no distinct singular or plural variants of the term.

The English pronunciation /ˈgi ʃa/ ("gei-" rhymes with "key"), as in the phrase "geisha girl," carries connotations of prostitution. This relates to the American occupation of Japan after World War II, when some young women, desperate for money and posing as geisha, sold sexual favours to American troops.

History and evolution

Geisha originated as skilled professional entertainers; originally most were male. While various ranks of professional courtesans provided sexual entertainment, geisha used their skills in traditional Japanese arts, music, dance, and storytelling. Town (machi) geisha worked freelance at parties outside the various pleasure quarters, while quarter (kuruwa) geisha entertained at parties within the pleasure quarters. As the artistic skills of high-ranking courtesans declined, the skills of the geisha, who were both male and female, became more in demand.

Male geisha (sometimes known as hōkan) gradually began to decline, and by 1800 female geisha (originally known as onna geisha, literally woman geisha) outnumbered them by three to one, and the term "geisha" came to be understood as referring to skilled female entertainers, as it does today.

Traditionally, geisha began their training at a very young age. Some girls were sold to geisha houses as children, and began their training in various traditional arts almost immediately.

During their childhood, geisha sometimes worked first as maids or assistants to experienced geisha, and then as apprentice geisha (maiko) during their training. This tradition of training exists as well in other traditions in Japan, when a student lives at the home, starting out doing housework and assisting the master, and eventually himself or herself becoming a master.

Modern geisha

The Gion geiko district (hanamachi) of Kyoto, Japan

Modern geisha still live in traditional geisha houses called okiya in areas called hanamachi (花街 "flower towns"), particularly during their apprenticeship, but many experienced geisha choose to live in their own apartments instead. The elegant, high-culture world that geisha are a part of is called karyūkai (花柳界 "the flower and willow world").

Young women who wish to become geisha now most often begin their training after completing junior high school or even high school or college, with many women beginning their careers in adulthood. Geisha still study traditional instruments like the shamisen, shakuhachi (bamboo flute), and drums, as well as traditional songs, classical Japanese dance, tea ceremony, ikebana (flower arranging), literature and poetry. By watching other geisha, and with the assistance of the owner of the geisha house, apprentices also become skilled in the complex traditions surrounding selecting and wearing kimono, and in dealing with clients.

Kyoto is where the geisha tradition is the strongest today, and two of the most prestigious and traditional geisha districts, Gion and Pontochō, are in Kyoto. The geisha in these districts are known as geiko. The Tokyo hanamachi of Shimbashi, Asakusa and Kagurazaka are also well known.

In modern Japan, geisha and maiko are now a rare sight outside Kyoto. In the 1920s there were over 80,000 geisha in Japan, but today there are far less - a commonly accepted estimate is 10,000. However, visitors to Kyoto's Gion district are likely to catch a glimpse of a maiko on her way to or from an appointment.

A sluggish economy, declining interest in the traditional arts, the inscrutable nature of the flower and willow world, and the expense of being entertained by geisha have all contributed to the tradition's decline.

A geiko entertains a businessman at a gathering in Gion, Kyoto.

Geisha are often hired to attend parties and gatherings, traditionally at tea houses (茶屋, chaya) or at traditional Japanese restaurants (ryōtei). Their time is measured in the time it takes an incense stick to burn, and is called senkōdai (線香代, "incense stick fee") or gyokudai (玉代 "jewel fee"). Another term used to describe fees is "ohana," or flower fees. The customer makes arrangements through the geisha union office (検番 kenban), which keeps each geisha's schedule and makes her appointments both for entertaining and for training.

Geisha and prostitution

There remains some confusion, particularly outside Japan, about the nature of the geisha profession. This issue has been complicated by Japanese prostitutes, particularly at onsen, who wish to co-opt the prestige of the geisha image by marketing themselves to tourists (both Japanese and non-Japanese) as "geisha," and by depictions of geisha in Western popular culture, such as the novel and film Memoirs of a Geisha.

Traditionally, geisha must remain unmarried (or retire upon their marriage), though it is not uncommon for them to have children. While geisha engagements often include flirting and even suggestive banter (albeit codified in traditional ways), they never involve sexual activity, and a geisha is not paid for sex, though an individual geisha may choose to engage in sexual relations with one of her patrons outside the context of her role as a geisha. And because such relations are related to the ability of a customer to pay for a geisha's traditional services, the argument can be made that this is just a convoluted form of prostitution.

It was also traditional for established geisha to take a danna, or patron. A danna was typically a wealthy man, sometimes married, who had the means to support the very large expenses related to a geisha's traditional training and other considerable costs. This sometimes occurs today as well.

Although a geisha and her danna may be in love, the affair is customarily contingent upon the danna's ability to offer her financial support. The traditional conventions and values within such a relationship are very intricate and not well understood, even by many Japanese.

Compared to the modern day street walker, Japanese geishas are not normally perceived as prostitutes. However, in most Asian cultures, those who sell themselves were and are considered prostitutes still despite the lack of sexual encounter professionally. Selling oneself was considered a disgrace to one’s family even if talent, not sex, was sold. Due to modern misconceptions and the common flaunting and glorification of prostitution (especially those in the media and pop-culture subcultures such as “ghetto”), the thoughts of exotic prostitution were justified as a way of life in the conscious mind and hence deteriorated the fundamental ties of geishas to the original meaning of prostitution.

Appearance

A geisha's appearance changes throughout her career, from the girlish, heavily made up maiko, to the more sombre appearance of an older established geisha.

Makeup

Today, the traditional make-up of the apprentice geisha is one of their most recognizable characteristics, though established geisha generally wear full white face makeup characteristic of maiko only during special performances.

The traditional makeup of an apprentice geisha features a thick white base (originally made with lead) with red lipstick and red and black accents around the eyes and eyebrows.

The application of makeup is hard to perfect and is a time consuming process. Makeup is applied before dressing to avoid dirtying the kimono. First, a wax or oil substance, called bintsuke-abura, is applied to the skin. Next, white powder is mixed with water into a paste and applied with a bamboo brush. The white makeup covers the face, neck, and chest, with two or three unwhitened areas (forming a "W" or "V" shape) left on the nape, to accentuate this traditionally erotic area, and a line of bare skin around the hairline, which creates the illusion of a mask. .

Typical nape make-up.

After the foundation layer is applied, a sponge is patted all over the face, throat, chest and the nape and neck to remove excess moisture and to blend the foundation. Next the eyes and eyebrows are drawn in. Traditionally charcoal was used, but today modern cosmetics are used. The eyebrows and edges of the eyes are coloured black; a maiko also applies red around her eyes.

The lips are filled in using a small brush. The colour comes in a small stick, which is melted in water. Crystallized sugar is then added to give the lips lustre.

For the first three years, a maiko wears this heavy makeup almost constantly. During her initiation the maiko is helped with her makeup by either her "older sister" (an experienced geisha who is her mentor) or the "mother" of her geisha house. After this she applies the makeup herself.

After a geisha has been working for three years, she changes her make-up to a more subdued style. The reason for this is that she has now become mature, and the simpler style shows her own natural beauty. For formal occasions the mature geisha will still apply white make-up. For geisha over thirty, the heavy white make-up is only worn during special dances which require her to wear make-up for her part.

Dress

Geisha always wear kimono. Apprentice geisha wear highly colourful kimono with extravagant obi. Older geisha wear more subdued patterns and styles. A geisha is never to be seen in the same kimono more than once whilst entertaining.

The colour, pattern, and style of kimono is also dependent on the season and the event the geisha is attending. In winter, geisha can be seen wearing a three-quarter length "overcoat" lined with hand painted silk over their kimono. Lined kimono are worn during colder seasons, and unlined kimono during the summer. A kimono can take from 2-3 years to complete, due to painting and embroidering.

Geisha wear a flat-soled sandal, zori, outdoors, and wear only tabi (white split-toed socks) indoors. In inclement weather geisha wear raised wooden clogs, called geta. Maiko wear a special black lacquered wooden clog, okobo. Yeah....

Hairstyles

The hairstyles of geisha have varied through history. In the past, it has been common for women to wear their hair down in some periods, but up in others. During the 17th century, women began putting all their hair up again, and it is during this time that the traditional shimada hairstyle, a type of traditional chignon worn by most established geisha, developed.

There are four major types of the shimada: the taka shimada, a high chignon usually worn by young, single women; the tsubushi shimada, a more flattened chignon generally worn by older women; the uiwata, a chignon that is usually bound up with a piece of colored cotton crepe; and a style that resembles a divided peach, which is worn only by maiko.

These hairstyles are decorated with elaborate haircombs and hairpins (kanzashi). In the seventeenth century and after the Meiji Restoration period, hair-combs were large and conspicuous, generally more ornate for higher-class women. Following the Meiji Restoration and into the modern era, smaller and less conspicuous hair-combs became more popular.

Geisha were trained to sleep with their necks on small supports (takamakura), instead of pillows, so they could keep their hairstyle perfect. To reinforce this habit, their mentors would pour rice around the base of the support. If the geisha's head rolled off the support while they slept, rice would stick to their hair and face.

Many modern geisha use wigs in their professional lives. They must be regularly tended by highly skilled artisans. Traditional hairstyling is a dying art.

Geisha in popular culture

Movie Poster for Memoirs of a Geisha.

The growing interest in geisha and their exotic appearance have spawned various popular culture phenomena both in Japan and in the West, most recently so-called "geisha-inspired" make-up lines promoted in the West after the popularity of the novel and film Memoirs of a Geisha.

In 1999, American singer Madonna appeared in her music video for "Nothing Really Matters" (as well as the 1998 Grammy Awards and her Drowned World Tour in 2001) dressed in geisha-inspired garb with a robe resembling kimono and heavy white make-up.

The video game character Setsuka from Soul Calibur III is likened by fans of the game as an almagation of a Geisha and a Queen of Hearts.

References

• Dalby, Liza Crihfield (1983). Geisha. Berkeley, California, United States: University of California Press
• Foreman, Kelly M. (2002). "The Role of Music in the Lives and Identities of Japanese Geisha." Ph.D. dissertation. Kent, Ohio, United States: Kent State University.
• Foreman, Kelly M. (2005). 'Bad Girls Confined: Okuni, Geisha, and the Negotiation of Female Performance Space,' in Bad Girls of Japan, edited by Laura Miller and Jan Bardsley. Palgrave MacMillain Press.
• Manabu Miyazaki (2005). Toppamono: Outlaw. Radical. Suspect. My Life in Japan's Underworld. Kotan Publishing. ISBN 0970171625.
• BBC television documentary Geisha Girl. First shown on UK channel BBC Four in January 2006.
• Naomi Graham-Diaz. "Make-Up of Geisha and Maiko". Immortal Geisha (2001). link - last accessed on January 19, 2005.

See also

Sing-song girls Kisaeng Tayu Yujo Jokyu Liza Dalby Mineko Iwasaki A Geisha (祇園囃子, Gion bayashi) is a 1953 Japanese film directed by Kenji Mizoguchi. It stars Michiyo Kogure as Miyoharu, the eponymous geisha. Memoirs of a Geisha, a fictional novel and film Japanese tea ceremony

Yumi Ishiyama (a character from the French animated television series Code Lyoko, whose Lyoko attire is that of a geisha's) Kanzashi Kimono Oiran, a traditional japanese prostitute Saburuko Shirabyoshi Taikomochi Geisha of Gion by Mineko Iwasaki, an autobiography (also published as Geisha, a Life)

External links

• The flower and willow world "Hanamachi" (German)
• Cohen, Kathleen, "Geisha History". School of Art and Design. San José State University.
• Patterson, Sofia, "Karyukai"
• Japonismo.com Traditional and modern Japanese culture, with a section dedicated to geishas "Geisha, arte y tradición" (Spanish).