Lifestyle and History of the Geisha
From Kako, the First Geisha to Today's Geisha in Kyoto and Anime
Jul 18, 2008
Few of Japan’s cultural entities are so shrouded in mystery as the geisha. Recently, literature and film have brought this character to light; but what is a geisha, really?
The History of the Geisha
The geisha owes her existence to several different types of Japanese entertainers. The first, taikomachi, resembled court jesters and entertained Japanese royalty and nobility as far back as the seventh century.
The geisha similarly evolved from the combination of the oiran, or courtesan, and the odoriko, or female dancer. In fact, the first known geisha, Kako, was a courtesan who discovered that she could garner great success by simply becoming affluent in the arts and entertainment, without engaging in acts more suited for the red light district.
Interestingly enough, the vast majority of the first geisha were men who put on performances for guests. At that time, there was a distinction made between geisha, male entertainers, and onna geisha, or female entertainers.
What do Geisha do?
Thanks to desperate times following World War II, during the occupation, many girls sold themselves to American and Allied soldiers and called themselves geisha. In fact, a true geisha does not engage is such acts.
The geisha’s chief purpose is to entertain and perform. The word geisha, means “person of the arts.” Their training consists of playing musical instruments, most recognizably the shamisen: a long, three stringed guitar-like instrument; singing, dancing, conversation and social skills, tea ceremony and ikebana, a traditional flower arranging technique.
What is a Geisha’s Life Like?
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 move to a geisha house to become an apprentice, or maiko, if she lives in Kyoto, and learn the arts of the geisha.
Geisha spend many night-time hours at tea houses or other entertainment venues performing for clients.
Geisha Images in Literature, Film, Anime and Manga
The popular novel, Memoirs of a Geisha, by Arthur Golden, and feature film of the same name, sparked Western interest in the lifestyle of the geisha. In Japan, the images of the geisha are ever-present in different artistic outlets; however, the geisha herself, as a person, is not widely used as a character.
The anime Sennen Joyu, or Millennium Actress, features Chiyoko Fujiwara who possesses many characteristics of the geisha, but who in fact is an actress. Perhaps this is a commentary on the similarity between the two professions.
Other arts feature qualities of the geisha in dress and manner, such as manga-turned-anime Blade of the Immortal. Here, it is the physical qualities alone which are represented.
While maiko may be found in Gion and other geisha districts of Kyoto, few geisha are seen on the streets. It seems that the geisha, through limited representation in the arts as well as discrete behavior in real life, are to remain in obscurity. The waning craft and lifestyle of the geisha may soon, like the samurai, become yet another image of the Japanese past.
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