A geisha was once such a beautiful creature. She still would be, if you were lucky enough to find her. The geisha are now rare, and the practice has basically died (Becca, p. 1). It is a shame, however, because the geisha contributed much to Japan. They contributed beauty, elegance, and grace to a once isolated society. They revived the detached country with their popularity throughout the world. They were known in European and Western cultures once upon a time. The practice of Geisha was once, and still is, a very significant aspect of Japanese culture and society.
A geisha is best defined as an "art person" or "person of the arts" (Becca, p.1). It is a Chinese word, the "gei" meaning "art" and the "sha" meaning "person." They entertained men at business parties at local high-class teahouses through song and dance. A popular misconception of the geisha culture is that geisha are prostitutes, and that their job was to sexually please men. This is not the case. A geisha would only pay a man sexual favours if they were having an affair; a geisha would never accept money for sex. That is not their job. There is a very fine line which separates geisha from prostitutes. Basically, the only way you can tell a geisha from a prostitute is by her attire. First of all, a geisha's obi, the sash around the middle of her kimono, is tied in the back, whereas a prostitute's is tied in the front. A prostitute does not have a dresser who can retie her obi after every customer, so she does it herself. Also, prostitutes wear many hair ornaments, whereas geisha keep it simple and where one or two. ("The Secret Life of Geisha" A&E)
The geisha population has died down greatly. The numbers have decreased phenomenally. In the 1930s and '40s, when the geisha were most popular, geisha entertainment was outlawed, as was the selling of a daughter, causing a drastic decrease in numbers (Encarta, p.1). By the 1970s, there were only approximately 17 000 geisha in all of Japan. Presently, and unfortunately, there are now fewer than one thousand geisha in the entire eastern world (Becca, p.1).
Geisha lived in a house called an okiya, which is a temple shared by related, as well as non-related, geisha. The only places you could really find okiya in Japan in the 1940s were Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto, all very popular with tourism. The most popular of the geisha districts in the 1930s and 1940s was Gion, in Kyoto (Golden, p. 35).
The art of the geisha began in the 11th century, in the Taishô and early Showâ periods, in the day of the Shogun. Japan had become a united country under the Shogun's ruling, and it soon isolated itself from the rest of the world. Once isolated, the government stamped out things like Christianity, and it also controlled prostitution. Once these rules were put into affect, the "Pleasure Quarters" arose; it was a district where prostitutes would entertain samurai. After many years of isolation, the first geisha of Japan appeared; they were men. These geisha took on the role of court jesters, and entertained samurai and government officials. Once the prostitutes saw how much attention, not to mention the amounts of money, these men were receiving for their entertainment, they became the first female geisha. Not long after the first female geisha appeared, the number of female geisha outnumbered the men. The geisha, after receiving much popularity from the general public, began to take the prostitutes' customers. Then, in 1779, a registry office, or kenban, was created to control the activities of the geisha; the government did this because the geisha did not pay taxes on their wages ("Secret Life of Geisha" A&E). Once the registry office was implemented, a strict order of dress soon followed. Only plain materials were permitted, and the hair was to be worn in a uniform style, decorated with only a single decorative comb and two pins. (Township, History)
Townsend Harris was an American. He was sent to isolated Japan to sign a Trade Treaty. The Shogun felt that Harris was a large threat to his country, and felt it a good idea to send in a spy, or something of the sort, to find out if Harris was suspicious. However, to the Shogun's delight, Harris asked to meet with a geisha. A young geisha, named Okichi, was sent to Harris to become a spy. However, that never happened; the two fell in love. This was the first instance of a Westerner and a geisha falling in love. Not long after Okichi and Harris met, the Trade Treaty was signed, and he returned to America. Okichi's heart was broken; she soon fell into alcoholism, and not long after, drowned herself. Now, centuries later, the geisha of Shimota return to the place where Okichi died, and pay respects to her every year ("Secret Life of Geisha" A&E).
The 1920s were the dawning of the Jazz Era, and it posed perhaps the greatest threat the geisha had encountered. Café girls became an obstacle to the practice's success. These girls would entertain men for less than a geisha would charge, and they were more modern. However, much to the culture's relief, the Jazz Age was short lived ("Secret Life of Geisha" A&E).
A new emperor took the throne after the Jazz Age died. Nationalism swept through Japan under Emperor Hirohito's reign. The geisha were then worshipped as a symbol of Japan, and still are today ("Secret Life of Geisha" A&E).
The 1930s proved to be a milestone for the geisha practice. At that time there were over 80, 000 geisha, yet more girls were still in demand. This demand for geisha was so high that young girls were being sold to okiya at the ages of about 7 or 8. Once sold, the girls were the legal property of the geisha mothers. In these times, a girl hardly ever became a geisha by choice, unlike today. Once upon a time, if a girl tried to escape her okiya, the townspeople in the district would capture her and send her back, only to be beaten by her geisha mother ("Secret Life of Geisha" A&E).
In the 1930s, there was a popular custom called mizuage. A mizuage was a girl's virginity. This would be sold to a man for a large sum of money, and sometimes, even a bidding war would ensue between 2 or 3 men. In the '30s, one geisha's mizuage sold for $850 000. The girls are never prepared for their mizuage ceremony, contrary to popular beliefs. They are not trained in sex, and are usually completely unprepared. They aren't usually told of it until the night before, or the day of, the ceremony. The geisha mother's only advice to a young girl when she was about to go through this ordeal was usually, "Lie still." During this ceremony, kisses are never exchanged ("Secret Life of Geisha" A&E).
Once WWII began, the geisha districts were shut down. Many geisha were sent to work in factories, and had to transform their once beautiful kimono into coveralls. However, after Hiroshima was bombed, Gion and other districts were re-opened, much to the public's delight. They entertained both Japanese and Americans alike. However, as more and more Americans came into their country, they were entertained more than the Japanese. Thus, the misconception began. The Americans began sleeping with girls posing as geisha, and began calling them "geesha." They felt that these "geesha" girls were nothing more than prostitutes, and the geisha's good name and beautiful image were tarnished in the Western world ("Secret Life of Geisha" A&E).
Yuki Morgan was a geisha. She was the first geisha to marry an American. That was the biggest mistake of her life. During WWII, the general public persecuted Yuki; they said she married a "hairy barbarian," and that she was a traitor to her country. Police would follow her everywhere she went. Her citizenship was soon taken away. Once Yuki was exiled from Japan, she went to America with her husband. Once again, she was unaccepted. Yuki and her husband then moved to Paris, to live a happy life. However, a few months later, her husband died, and she returned to Japan. She spent the rest of the war isolated in her house, and died shortly after Hiroshima was bombed; she never had a chance to become a beautiful geisha again ("Secret Life of Geisha" A&E).
A geisha, once she is established and popular, may acquire a danna. A danna is best defined as a man who would pay off the geisha's debts to her okiya. This includes the cost of training, food, kimono, and board. A danna may have even have bought her her own teahouse so she could support herself. The danna is the only man a geisha would have sex with on a consistent basis. In exchange for his money and support, the geisha would provide him with entertainment (Township, Glossary).
It is an interesting process a girl goes through to become a geisha, if not a cruel one. First, the girl is sold to the okiya for a varying amount of money. She then is registered at the local kenban, or registry office. She soon begins school and training. The training is often rigorous and excessive. A girl must learn how to sing, dance, play the shamisen, read poetry articulately, write calligraphy, attend a Sado ceremony (tea ceremony) properly, and talk to men so as not to bore them. The geisha are taught to never bore a man, as she might lose his business. A girl, who is now referred to as a shikoni (a geisha in training), begins her schooling at about the age of 10 (Becca, p.1). Also, once a girl is sold to the okiya, she has a life-long debt. Her debt is repaid through her wages. However, a geisha can leave her okiya before repaying her expenses, but the district, and everyone who knows her, would look down upon her ("Secret Life of Geisha" A&E).
Once a shikoni is about the age of 12 or 13, she is ready to become a maiko, or apprentice geisha. A maiko is adopted by an "older sister" (an established geisha) and she is to watch her sister to learn everything about what it takes to be a geisha. Once a maiko becomes established, the mizuage ceremony is held, and she transcends into womanhood as she becomes a geisha. This transformation is called turning the collar. A maiko's kimono collar is red, but once she becomes a geisha, she sports a white one. ("Secret Life of Geisha" A&E, Township, Glossary).
There are many distinct differences between a maiko and an established geisha. Many of the differences lie in the kimono. The back of the obi is longer on a maiko, and is worn high on the bust, as to give a childlike appearance. Maiko wear only bright coloured kimono, which symbolizes their young age and inexperience. They must sport the split-peach hairstyle, which is a flipped bun with a red piece of fabric in the centre; this gives the illusion of sexuality. Only their top lip is painted, which signifies their immaturity and naïveté as a geisha. Once a maiko becomes a geisha, she is seen as more elegant. She does not have to wear any bright colours anymore, and she wears minimal make-up. She no longer has to wear the split-peach hairstyle, and can instead sport a bun. She may also wear a wig if she pleases; compared to a geisha, a maiko has minimal freedom concerning how she looks. Also, a geisha no longer has to obey a geisha mother. She can take her own bookings and choose her own customers, whereas a maiko cannot choose who she spends time with ("Secret Life of Geisha" A&E, Becca, p.1).
The geisha live in a very hierarchical society, a society controlled completely by women. At the top of the proverbial food chain lies the mother. She keeps the financing books of the okiya and takes bookings for her geisha. Next in line are the established geisha, generally the "older sisters." They look after the maiko and show them how to be a proper geisha when not at a banquet. Under the geisha are the maiko, or the "younger sisters." They attend school and training to become like their older sisters. The shikoni also fit into the "younger sister" category. In some okiya, there may be a grandmother, who is generally the adoptive geisha mother of the current one. She plays no vital role, but only stays there to make sure there is order in her okiya. A mother may adopt a geisha, to inherit the okiya after she retires, or passes away. There is a ceremony that the geisha mother and the adopted geisha go through to seal the deal, so to speak (Golden, p. 128).
The most important asset to a geisha is her kimono collection. Kimono are very expensive, and they range in the thousands of dollars, as well as the accessories to accompany them. A belt that secures the obi costs approximately $220, and the purses that match the kimono are $500 or more. Because of these obscene prices, a geisha's worst fear is fire. If an okiya were to ever burn down, millions of dollars in kimono and accessories would be lost ("Secret Life of Geisha" A&E).
There are certain types of geisha called "Hot Springs Geisha." They work in holiday resorts, mostly in the city of Atami. However, these women, like the "geesha," are not real geisha; they are simply prostitutes, masquerading as geisha. But, no one seems to mind. These Hot Springs Geisha put on shows for about 200 people two times a week. They are cheaper ($8 for tea and an hour of dancing) than real geisha. Their kimono are cotton instead of spun silk. They advertise themselves as symbols of sexuality, rather than symbols of beauty and grace. These women, like the "geesha," have tarnished the good reputation of geisha, and as a result, these works of art are now thought of as whores ("Secret Life of Geisha" A&E).
Tsuya-Giku was once dubbed the number one geisha in all of Gion. She was once known as Kimoko, but was sold as Tsuya-Giku for 15, 000 yen. She trained hard in all of her classes, and soon became a younger sister to the great Kimura. Younger sisters change their names to match their older sister's, so everyone will know what a beautiful job the older sister did with training the maiko. When Tsuya-Giku turned eighteen, she acquired a danna, and gave her mizuage up to him. She soon owned her own teahouse, called the Bluebird. After she turned twenty-five, Tsuya-Giku had a child. This was around the time Pearl Harbour was bombed. She soon went to work in a factory, but was able to look after her daughter because of her danna's support. Once the war was over, her danna lost everything; his money, his home, and his title as "count." Tsuya-Giku had to return to work, and entertain the Americans. However, she was making three of four times as much than with her Japanese clients. She was now able to support herself through the Bluebird, and eventually had another daughter, who later went on to become a geisha. Tsuya-Giku had a hard life, but she struggled through it, and ended up being one of the most successful women in Japan's history (Tsuya-Giku, p.1).
As aforementioned, the kimono are the most valuable thing in a geisha's life. They define who she is; they make her appear beautiful and elegant. However, there is another aspect of the geisha's beauty, which makes her very distinguishable. Her make-up. The process of applying the make-up is long and grueling. They must look perfect for their patrons, and they generally do. First, they apply wax on their face to make it easier to apply the base make-up. Next, they put on a pale yellow face cream, which used to be made of nightingale dropping in the 1930s. They then apply a white foundation to their face and neck, which leaves about a centimetre along the hairline. The skin showing around the hairline symbolizes nudity, as a geisha never shows much skin. She may also paint a red streak down her neck, which symbolizes sexuality, and shows a man how daring she is. Following the base, she puts on reddish blush, but not so much as to take away from the white make-up. Next, she draws her eyebrows on with charcoal, produced from a burned piece of wood. She then applies black and red eyeliner, to make her eyes stand out. Lastly, she paints rouge lip-paint onto her lips. She applies this in a circle shape, rather than following the lip line (Golden, p. 62, 63, 66; "Secret Life of Geisha" A&E video; Becca, p.1).
The kimono is put on in a very complicated process as well. A hip wrap (koshimaki) is put on. It acts like a corset, but has padding to prevent the kimono from bunching. A short sleeved kimono undershirt is then put on; it is tied at the waist, and keeps the hip wrap in place. An underrobe is put on after the undershirt. The heavy kimono is then fitted onto the geisha, and small adjustments are made. As mentioned before, the obi is tied, which takes quite long. After the kimono is completely on, the geisha puts her white socks, called tabi, on. And interesting thing about kimono is that every kimono is the same length. This makes it difficult for shorter women, and the extra fabric must be tucked under the obi. The definition of an obi is a sash wrapped around the waist, which covers the area from the breastbone to the naval. Half a dozen cords and clasps are needed to hold it in place (Golden, p. 64, 65). Also, there is significance as to what colour a geisha's kimono is. A black kimono represents the start of a New Year and important occasions, a pink kimono represents summer, an orange kimono represents fall, and a green kimono represents winter. Kimono are very hard to walk in, and small steps must be taken. Also, the geisha wear no underwear; it would spoil the line of the kimono ("Secret Life of Geisha" A&E video).
The one last vital thing a geisha needs to look beautiful is traditional hair. As aforementioned, the split-peach hairstyle is sported by maiko, and a bun is worn by geisha. A geisha must go to the salon once a week, and cannot wash, nor touch, her hair in that period of time. She must sleep with her neck on a wooden block to keep her hair in place. Most geisha hate this part of their practice. When they go to the hair salon, it is a ritual. Sections of her haired are oiled and waxed, and pinned in place. Extensions are used to thicken the real hair. The hair must be thickened because the constant pulling and tugging causes pre-mature bald patches. A regular salon visit is approximately two hours long. After a geisha's hairstyle is completed, she returns to the okiya and puts on her hair ornaments. These ornaments are sacred to geisha; they would never borrow, nor even touch, another geisha's ("Secret Life of Geisha" A&E video).
In our present day, the geisha are becoming fewer. The okiya are closing, and some nights they have no work, whereas twenty years ago they could have up to five banquets a night. In Tokyo, there are less than 100 geisha; these few geisha are called Shimbasi Geisha. They train under the "Grand Dance Master," and put on recitals for the Sakura (Cherry Blossom) Festival, and other such events. Also, in our present day, the first large geisha scandal in over twenty years arose. Prime Minister Suzuki Uno had a geisha mistress. She soon went public with their affair, ending in his resignation. Modern geisha do not consider her to be a geisha anymore. She broke the code of silence that has been in affect for hundreds of years. One geisha mother stated, "Our business seems to be attracting the wrong sort of woman." A prime example of that is Hana Chan. She was the first ever "Pop-Geisha." She quit being a geisha after seven years to pursue a career as a pop star in Europe. Her actions were often outrageous, and she was an embarrassment to the geisha culture. Hana Chan was the first geisha to ever profit from popular culture ("Secret Life of Geisha" A&E video).
One of the most remarkable people in the geisha practice is Liza Dalby, and American woman who became a geisha in the 1970s. At first, she was unaccepted for her pale skin and blue eyes. But, she proved herself through her schooling, and was soon dubbed a maiko, and then the first, and only, Western geisha ("Secret Life of Geisha" A&E video).
An interesting, if not amusing fact, is that a common housewife is honoured if her husband sees a geisha. She's greatly honoured if said husband were to have a sexual affair with a geisha. Geisha are not seen as ordinary women; they are not seen as women at all; they are seen as beautiful works of art, who bring happiness and tradition to a modern society ("Secret Life of Geisha" A&E video).
The practice of Geisha was once, and still is, a very significant aspect of Japanese culture and society. The geisha are thought to be a symbol of Japan by government officials, politicians, and modern people alike. It is sad that such an amazing practice is dying out, and unfortunate that a nation might lose its most precious tradition. Once the sweethearts of samurai, once the definition of elegance, the geisha practice is losing its vitality, and may very well die out. However, a Japanese tradition such as the Practice of Geisha will not go down easily; hundreds of years of beauty cannot just fade away.
