The term Geisha is used to refer to, traditional female entertainers of Japan (mostly

found in the Kyoto and Tokyo regions). These women act as hostesses in various tea
houses and amuse clients/guests through their various skills. Literally meaning a
person of arts or performing artist, the term Geisha is also many a times replaced by
the term Geiko (mostly used in western japan).
Origin
History of japan has shown evidence of courtesans in its society, since time
immemorial, but by the 16
th
century such women were walled-in the pleasure quarters
known as yukaku. The pleasure quarters provided services of legal prostitution and
was home to all sorts of women who were engaged in any kind of exchange activity
which included some or the other nature of, sale and purchase of amusement,
enjoyment or pleasure as a commodity. Within the pleasure quarters, siome female play
artists called yujo lived as well, who were part time sexual servants too. The top most
of the yujo class were called Oiran who were a combination of actress and courtesan.
This class of women have often been refered to as the predecessors of Geisha.
Over the years, the pleasure quarters became entertainment centers, offering more
than just sexual services. Accomplished courtesans entertained their clients through
singing, poetry, dance and so on. Gradually, almost all courtesans became specialized in
these arts and by the turn of the 18
th
century a new profession of pure entertainment
arose-with the emergence of female entertainers called Geisha. Interestingly, the first
of the geisha community were actually men, who used to entertain customers waiting
to see the Oirans.
Geisha culture started flourishing by 794 AD, when the imperial capital of japan was
moved to Kyoto (which is in western japan). In time Kyoto developed six geisha
districts, which are together popularly known as hanamachi (flower towns). These
districts according to hierarchy were:-
1. Gion kobu 2. Pontocho 3. Kamishichicken 4. Gion higashi 5. Miyagawa-cho
and 6. Shimabura
At present date only five of these districts are functional as shimabura has become
defunct. Geisha are seen to be living in a alternative dimensional world of beauty called
karyukai, which mean the flower and the willow world where flower represents beauty
& colour and willow stand for subtlety & grace.
How to become a Geisha ; Steps of training
There are basically three major steps before a girl becomes a full fledged geisha.
Traditionally, geisha began their training at a very young age, mostly at 9-10 years of
age (6 days into 6 months of 6 years of age was considered most auspicious).
They joined as shikomi -meaning servant, helper around the okiya ( which means a
house where geisha live, at certain point of time even more than one practicing geisha
can reside in the same okiya). In this very first step itself, they start with their
schooling, where they learn all sorts of arts ranging from classical dance, music, poetry,
calligraphy, playing instruments to even conducting some indoor games. This stage
usually was for several years, till about the age of 14 or 15.
Then comes the next stage of training during which the trainee geisha is known as
minarai- literally meaning, a watching apprentice. For this stage she must find an
onee-san(older sister)-who would be a practicing older geisha, and she would act as
her mentor. During this period minarai follows her onee-san to various ozashiki (formal
parties) and private plus public occasions to get insights in the job. A minarai only
charges a third of the usual fee of a geisha. They usually work with a particular ochaya
(tea house), learning from the okasan (literally meaning mother)-proprietress of the
okiya (geisha house) she resides in, many a times, herself a retired geisha, teaching
techniques of conversation and handling different situations. The minarai stage lasts
only for about a month.
In the third and final stage, the trainee geisha is known as a maiko. The relationship of
onee-san and imouto-san (younger sister, refers to the trainee geisha) during this
period is very important, as it is during this stage that the onee-san teaches her maiko
everything about working in the hanamachi. The onee-san even helps the maiko to pick
a new professional name, which usually is related to the symbols related to her own
name. There are three major elements of a maikos training, which she must master to
become an accomplished geisha i.e, formal arts, entertainment and social skills. The
maiko stage lasts for several years and around the age of 20-22 a maiko is finally
promoted to the status of a full-fledged geisha in a ceremony called erikae , in which
her collar is changed from a red one, worn by maiko to a white one, worn by geisha.
Hairstyles
There are five primary hairstyles that an apprentice geisha will wear before completing
her apprenticeship, which are:-
Wareshinobu ; this style is only worn during the actual apprenticeship, with a round
curve on the top and sides, and a round bun in the middle. This style is also called the
maiden hairstyle.
Ofuku ; This next style is worn by the apprentice for an extended period of time.
Traditionally, a young apprentice would change to this hairstyle of the senior apprentice
after her mizuage ceremony (selling of virginity ceremony) has taken place. The ofuku
style is worn the apprentice until one month before her omisedashi (debut) ceremony.
Sakko; this is the style which is worn in the last month before the debut ceremony. It is
said that by having this done, the apprentice expresses her resolution and readiness to
become a geisha.
The final two primary styles that an apprentice wears are the yakko shimada and the
katsuyama and these styles are only worn on special occasions of new year celebration
and the Gion festival in july respectively.
Apart from these hairstyles, in the first year of her apprenticeship a maiko wears really
accessories in total, changing every month which is one every month, for a year. All
these accessories hold some or the other significance, usually related to the season.
Some other hairstyles worn by geisha are, nihongami, uiwata, taka shimada and so on.
Make up
The traditional makeup of an apprentice geisha features a thick white base with
red lipstick and red and black accents around the eyes and eyebrows. Originally, the
white base mask was made with lead, but after the discovery that it poisoned the skin
and caused terrible skin and back problems for the older geisha, it was replaced with
rice powder.
The application of makeup is hard to perfect and is time-consuming. 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 starting from the neck and working
upwards. The white makeup covers the face, neck, and chest, with two or three
unwhitened areas (forming a W or V shape, usually a traditional W 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.
Attire
Geisha always wear kimono. Apprentice geisha wear highly colourful kimono with really
bright obi (sash around the waist which hold the kimono together). The obi is brighter
than the kimono, to get a certain exotic balance. Older geisha wear more subdued
patterns and styles. An apprentice geishas kimono in addition to the hanging obi will
also have pocketed sleeves called furi that dangle all the way to the ground. A geishas
attire on the other hand has much shorter sleeves. The colour, pattern and style of
kimono a geisha wears depends on the season and the event she is attending. Geisha
wear the flat soled sandal zori while maiko wear a special kind of wooden clog called
okobo (which is about 10cms high). So overall the look of a geisha is much simpler
and decent than the elaborately bright look of a maiko.
Dance and music
The dance style of geisha has evolved a lot from the dance performed on the kabuki
stage( this form dance often refered to as the wild and the outrageous was performed
by oirans, predecessors of geisha). The wild and the outrageous dances transformed
into a more subtle, stylized and controlled form of dance. It is extremely disciplined.
Every dance uses gestures to tell a story. However these gestures are very difficult to
understand, for example; long sleeves of kimono are often used to symbolize dabbing
tears. The dances are accompanied by traditional Japanese music, also played by
geisha. The primary instrument is the shamisen (a three stringed instrument) played
with bachi (plectrum). Also flutes called fue and drums are also played by geisha.
In the recent years, apart from performing in teahouses privately, geisha have made
many public appearances as well. Public dances like odori now take place on an annual
basis in Kyoto hanamachi.
Mizuage and Danna
Mizuage was a ceremony in which, the virginity of a maiko was sold off in bidding,to
the highest bidder. Once the mizuage patrons function was served of deflowering the
young maiko he was not supposed to have any further relations with the girl. As
grotesque as it sounds- bidding and selling of ones virginity, but the mizuage ceremony
also had a brighter to it; the maintenance, upbringing and investment on the training of
a geisha, takes a great deal of expenditure. All these expenses on a geisha are bore by
the okiya she lives in, these expenditures however are not any kind of favour, but is a
debt on the geisha. Its a contract which every geisha has with her okiya called nenki ,
and a geisha had to pay in full to free herself from this debt and move out of the okiya
if she wishes so. Thus, most geisha by selling their mizuage would free themselves from
debt of the okiya. This ceremony also signified the coming of age of a maiko,it was sort
of like a rite of passage, to become a true geisha. After this ceremony, the new geisha
is supposed to move out of the care of her onee-san and establish herself in tha
hanamachi. In the present date traditional mizuage is no longer practiced, so on her
18
th
birthday or 3 years into the profession, whichever comes first, a geisha goes
through her mizuage ceremony(remains only as a formality) and changes her hairstyle
to ofuku.
It was typical in the past, for a geisha to have a danna (patron), a wealthy man, who
would take care of all her expenses. It did not mean that the danna would get sexual
favours in return. However it has been seen many times that the geisha, leaves her
profession and becomes the mistress of her danna, to lead an easier life. Geisha
however are expected to be single women, but, those who do marry have to retire from
the profession since there is no such thing as a married geisha.
Is geisha a prostitute?
Many times geisha are confused with courtesans. There is a controversy over whether
the act of mizuage be considered as prostitution or not. Also, some consider the
relationship of a geisha with her danna as one of sexual favour, thus consider it as an
act of prostitution. Also, with predecessors as courtesans they are often misunderstood
to be continuing with the same tradition. This confusion was further increased due to
the period of allied occupation of japan, when the term geisha girls was used for almost
every low profile girl in japan, ranging from bar hostesses, street walkers to even
common prostitutes. The rise of a section of courtesans, who acquired some skills and
started calling themselves, geisha girls further added to the confusion. Also, it led to
some extent of, the formation of western opinion of geisha being high class courtesans,
as these geisha girls especially served the American gls(armed forces).so, this is
considered to be the major cause of the western misconception of all geisha being
engaged in prostitution. Further, a group of geisha from hot springs called
onsen(meaning prostitute) geisha, provided sexual services to their guests, which again
led to the misperception, and homogenization of every geisha in the same category.
The sexual life of a hanamachi or Tokyo geisha however, is mostly her own private
choice, although they are not allowed to marry for as long as they are active in the
professions, but other then that there is no interference by the okiya or any other
element of the society in their private relationships with any men. However, having said
this, this issue needs to be considered in cognisance with many aspects.
Women dominate
Women in the geisha society are considered to be some of the most successful business
women in japan. In the geisha society, women run everything, the geisha houses, the
tea houses, they recruit aspiring geisha they are the teachers of new geisha and they
keep track of geishas expenditures. The only major role en lay in this world is of a
guest and even in that sphere they are many a times replaced by women. The
customer makes arrangements through the geisha union office (keban)- also controlled
by women-which keeps each geishas schedule and makes her appointments both for
entertainment and for training.
There is no age for a geisha to retire, she must practice every day for all her life once
she is rolled in, in a school of training, she never leaves training in that school until she
retires from the profession or dies. A geisha can well continue with her practice in her
eighties or even nineties.

Time keeping
The charge of a geishas time is measured by burning incense stick and is called
senkodai (incense stick fee). An incense stick clock uses incense sticks which have
been calibrated to known burning rates to keep track of time.
Modern day geisha
In modern day, geisha are mostly jst found in Kyoto and Tokyo in japan. Geisha still live
in traditional okiya, in hanamachi. The flower and the willow world even today is almost
the way it used to be in the 18
th
century. However, some changes have taken place and
fortunately almost all are for the better. Now, instead of beginning their training at the
age of toddlers, these girls go to school and join geisha training usually after middle
school, high school or even after college. The traditional ceremony of mizuage no
longer takes place. Most of all, now the girls who come into the profession make their
own decision to do so, and not because of some kind of pressure or compulsion.
As of 2010, geisha have started serving beer in gardens of Kyoto and even gion. Also
in the tea ceremony which takes place on February 25
th
every year and serves up to
3,000 guests geisha act as hostesses. Thus, the modern day geisha is not confined to
the same old teahouses and come out into the public spaces as well.
Conclusion
For hundreds of years, the geisha have been a part of Japanese culture. They are
known by people worldwide, but their image is distorted. The traditions they follow
have become antiquated. Modern day clubs, bars, malls, amusement parks are taking
over the entertainment industry. Also the cost and methods of geisha are considered as
overrated, by a huge part of todays generation, who are used to having things quick,
easy, and cheap, as a result, their place I the society today is threatened.
In addition, to the advancements made by the world, participation in the geisha society
is severely dwindling because of the dedication that is necessary to become a geisha.
There were 80,000 geisha in japan before world war II , and today there are fewer than
1000 true geisha left.
The silver lining , in this case is that geisha are being recognised by the world as
national hospitality symbols, for example in 1974 when U.S president Gerald ford visited
japan he was served by geisha in a famous ochaya of Kyoto. Also, the work of many
researchers (like liza dalby) is bringing out the true nature of a geishas work in front of
the world, as skillful entertaining hostesses. So, it can be said that there is still hope for
the geisha world as it has a lot of potential still left in it.
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