芸者の世界
A GEISHA’S WORLD
An echo of the past
Contrary to misconception, a geisha is not a courtesan but rather a highly skilled entertainer, with a work schedule full of lunches and dinners, as well as continual training in music, dance, and conversation. Her clients are the business and political elite, whom she entertains at teahouses or high-class traditional restaurants. For that reason, most Japanese people have never had contact with a geisha.
Be More Japan A Geisha’S WORLD
D Left to right: In Kyoto, apprentice geisha are known as maiko; dancing is one of the essential skills that a geisha must master.
Be More Japan A Geisha’S WORLD
Odori
Each geisha district stages an annual public dance, or odori. In Kyoto, Gion’s Miyako Odori is in April and Pontocho’s Kamogawa Odori is in May.
Becoming a Geisha
Although there were an estimated 80,000 geisha in the 1920s, there are now only around 1,000. Apprenticeship begins at the age of 15, and involves living in an okiya (geisha boarding house) and undergoing five years of rigorous training in the traditional arts of dance, music, tea ceremony, ikebana, and literature. Being an apprentice can also mean putting up with such demands as weekly visits to a hairstylist (and no hair washing in between), little contact with families and friends, and no cell phones. Only after a woman graduates to geisha status is she allowed more freedom, perhaps even her own apartment—though often this lifestyle is unsustainable, as she may have to retire when she gets married.
D Geisha are trained to play a range of musical instruments.
Geisha Districts
There has always been regional variety in geisha culture, but a common thread is the hanamachi (geisha districts), where geisha live, work, and study. The most famous hanamachi are in Kyoto, of which Gion is the largest and most prestigious. Official geisha appointments are extremely hard to come by, but you can catch a glimpse of Gion’s geisha and apprentices on their way to clients. In today’s high-tech Japan, they look like an apparition, sprung from a woodblock print: their faces a powdery white and lips a startling crimson, with elaborately coiffed hair decorated with dangling ornaments and silk flowers.