Geishas

Contents

Introduction 2

Origins of the Geisha 3

Geishas and Prostitutes 4

Geisha Rigorous Training 4

Geisha Costume 5

Geisha’s Work 5

Conclusion 6

Bibliography 7

Introduction

This report explains the main characteristics of an old Japanese art, that it’s called the art of ”gei”, this word means “artistic skills”, because the person who practice it, perform artistic dance and music presentations. The people that practice that kind of art are called Geishas. Generally this occupation is done by women, but in the beginning, there were Male Geishas.

The main activity of the Geishas consist in entertain wealthy men with dance, music and conversation, these women sometimes sell sexual favors, that’s why some people say, Geishas are just refined prostitutes. These women wear a very expensive clothes, mostly her parents are a very poor and they sell her to other geishas becomes to be educated like a geisha too, they are called “mayko”, or apprentice geisha.

In the following pages will be exposed the most significant aspects of the Geishas’ lifestyle, like their origins, their training, their activities and their costume.

Origins of the Geisha

The first official geisha were licensed in Kyoto in 1813, just fifty-five years before the Meiji Restoration, which ended the Tokugawa Shogunate and signaled the rapid modernization of Japan. Geisha did not disappear when the shogunate fell, despite the dissolution of the samurai class. It was World War II that really dealt a blow to the profession; almost all young women were expected to work in factories to support the war effort, and there were far fewer men left in Japan to patronize teahouses and bars.

In this epoch the geisha were forced to work as prostitutes and many of its secrets were revealed, before the war the geisha were seen as mysterious and elegant women but after the war were seen only as prostitutes, any woman could be a Geisha .

The “saburuko” were the first geisha performers in Japanese history; “saburuko” means “those who serve”. They waited tables and made conversation, sometimes they sold sexual favors too. The most important saburuko members were the ones who danced and entertained at elite social events; those members were the higher class Geishas, the other saburuko members were daughters of destitute families.

Some people think that geishas are only women, but the reality is that the earliest geishas were men, and they’re known as “taiko-mouchi”, expression that means “drum carrier”; in the 90’s there was a dozen of them still alive. The profession of Geisha was dominated by women in the mid of the 18th century.

Geishas become more popular in the 19th century, when Japan opened up to west, specially with British musicals like The Geisha (1896) and Madame Butterfly (1904). After World War II, American soldiers used the term “geisha girl” to describe prostitutes. Although the hey-day of the geisha was short, the occupation still lives on today. Whereas traditional maiko, or apprentice geisha, began training at about age 6, today all Japanese students must stay in school through age 15. Thus, girls in Kyoto can begin their training at 16, while those in Tokyo usually wait until they are 18.

Traditionally, very young girls were sold by their families to geisha houses. They worked as maids and servants to help pay for the cost of their care and food. As they matured and became more educated in the geisha arts, they eventually became apprentices and accompanied geisha to tea houses at night. With the end of World War II, the practice of selling girls into the virtual slavery of geisha life came to an end. Today, deciding to become a geisha is completely voluntary and a teenage girl may

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