Geisha and maiko both perform in public dance events staged yearly, such as the Miyako Odori; some also perform dances for tourists at Gion Corner. The arts that geisha perform are considered highly developed and, in some cases, unique throughout Japan to the world of geisha. For example, the Gion district of Kyoto is the only district wherein the kyo-mai style of Japanese traditional dance is taught. This style of dance is taught solely to the geisha within the district by the Inoue school, with the school's former head, Inoue Yachiyo, having been classified as a " Living National Treasure" by the Government of Japan, the highest artistic award attainable in the country, in 1955. [5] Etymology and terminology [ edit ] A shikomi (left) accompanying the maiko Takamari of the Kaida okiya in Gion Kobu Minarai Katsunosuke wearing a short obi and a large, colourful set of kanzashi hairpins

Memoirs of a Geisha - Wikipedia Memoirs of a Geisha - Wikipedia

The status of courtesans as celebrities and arbiters of fashion had also waned considerably. The art forms they practiced had become stiffly-cherished relics of the upper classes, as had their manner of speech and their increasingly gaudy appearance. In contrast, machi geisha ( lit. 'town geisha') had begun to successfully establish themselves as worldly, cutting-edge entertainers, more artistically daring than their cloistered, indentured cousins, and able to come and go and dress as they pleased. [ citation needed] The main sightings are of them getting out of a taxi or walking the short way directly to the teahouse.

Gion Geisha Photo Ban

Kyotos Gion District is one of Japans most well-known “Geisha districts”. Visitors travel to Gion for a chance to catch a glimpse of a Geisha (or Geiko as they are called here), enjoy the well preserved, historic entertainment area and to learn about traditional arts and crafts. Despite their official status as lower-class entertainers, geisha continued to grow in popularity. While courtesans existed to meet the needs of upper-class men (who could not respectably be seen to visit a lower-class prostitute) and prostitutes met the sexual needs of lower-class men, this left a gap of skilled and refined entertainers for the emerging merchant classes, who, though wealthy, were unable to access courtesans because of their social class. Gion retains a number of old-style Japanese houses called machiya, which roughly translates to "townhouse", some of which function as ochaya, or "teahouses", where geisha entertain guests at parties, involving singing, traditional dance performances, drinking games and conversation. Both geisha and maiko can be seen travelling throughout the district to attend parties, lessons and various other engagements. A number of dressing-up parlors, known as henshin studios, will dress tourists up as maiko or geisha for a fee, allowing them to walk through the streets of Gion and have their photo taken; by law in Kyoto, these tourists are required to dress inaccurately, so as not to impersonate geisha or maiko. [ citation needed] Geisha ( 芸者) ( / ˈ ɡ eɪ ʃ ə/; Japanese: [ɡeːɕa]), [1] [2] also known as geiko ( 芸子) (in Kyoto and Kanazawa) or geigi ( 芸妓), are a class of female Japanese performing artists and entertainers trained in traditional Japanese performing arts styles, such as dance, music and singing, as well as being proficient conversationalists and hosts. Their distinct appearance is characterised by long, trailing kimono, traditional hairstyles and oshiroi make-up. Geisha entertain at parties known as ozashiki, often for the entertainment of wealthy clientele, as well as performing on stage and at festivals.

Mineko Iwasaki - Wikipedia

The stretch of the Shirakawa River before it enters the Kamo river is also a popular preserved area. It is lined on the south side with traditional establishments which directly face the river, and some are accessed by crossing bridges from the north side. The north side was previously also lined with buildings, but these were torn down in World War II as a fire-prevention measure, and the section is now primarily a pedestrian street, lined with cherry blossoms. These are lit up in the evening in the spring, and the area is active year-round. In the present day, geisha wear a variety of the shimada known as the chū taka shimada – a flattened, sleeker version of the bunkin taka shimada worn as a bridal wig in traditional weddings. Though geisha also wear this hairstyle as a wig, it is usually shaped specifically to their face by a wig stylist. Older geisha may wear the tsubushi taka shimada style on special occasions, featuring a flatter "bun" ( mage) than both the bunkin taka shimada and chū taka shimada styles. Lugasi says if the geisha or maiko is overly friendly and posing on the road, chances are she’s not the real deal. Look behind you, now” I heard, as I was leisurely photographing the old wooden houses that still stand as the preservation of ancient Japan. I longed to see what was behind them and what tales they could tell.Italie, Hillel (2001-05-04). "Lawsuit of a Geisha". Asian Week. Archived from the original on 2008-03-02 . Retrieved 2008-01-14.

Geishas in Kyoto: 7 things to know before going to Gion | CNN

In the early stages of Japanese history, saburuko (serving girls) were mostly wandering girls whose families had been displaced by war. [12] Some of these saburuko girls offered sexual services for money while others with a better education made a living by entertaining at high-class social gatherings. [13] [14] Part of the Gion area is featured as a photo travel landscape in the 2010 racing video game Gran Turismo 5.

Traditionally the shikomi stage of training lasted for years, and some girls were bonded to geisha houses as children. Daughters of geisha were often brought up as geisha themselves, usually as the successor ( atotori, meaning "heir" or "heiress") or daughter-role [ clarification needed] ( musume-bun) to the okiya. Successors were not always blood relations. Now, a girl is often a shikomi for up to a year. But before you join the Gion masses in the hopes of snapping a geiko or maiko (apprentice geisha) on her way to work, there are seven things worth knowing: Geisha wear their obi in the nijuudaiko musubi style – a taiko musubi (drum knot) tied with a fukuro obi; geisha from Tokyo and Kanazawa also wear their obi in the yanagi musubi (willow knot) style and the tsunodashi musubi style. Though geisha may wear hakata-ori obi in the summer months, geisha from Fukuoka – where the fabric originates from – may wear it the entire year. World War II brought lasting change to the geisha profession; before the war, geisha numbers, despite seeing competition from jokyū (café girls, the precursor to the bar hostess profession in Japan), had been as high as 80,000, [9] : 84 [27] however, following the closure of all geisha districts in 1944, mostly all geisha had been conscripted into the war effort proper, with many finding work in factories or elsewhere through customers and patrons.

Gion - The Traditional District in the Heart of Kyoto Gion - The Traditional District in the Heart of Kyoto

Gion ( 祇園) [a] is a district of Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto, Japan, originating as an entertainment district in the Sengoku period, in front of Yasaka Shrine (Gion Shrine). The district was built to accommodate the needs of travellers and visitors to the shrine. It eventually evolved to become one of the most exclusive and well-known geisha districts in all of Japan. Gion is the Japanese translation (via Chinese Qiyuan) of the Buddhist term Jetavana. [1] [2] Yasaka Shrine, located in this district is the center of the Gion faith. [3] Minarai-jaya During the minarai period, an apprentice will receive training through one specific teahouse, referred to as the minarai-jaya. [11] Mizu shōbai ( 水商売, lit. 'water business') A euphemistic term used to describe the entertainment and red-light districts in Japan, including the worlds of kabuki actors and geisha. [9] Ochaya ( お茶屋, lit. 'teahouse') Though geisha may entertain at their okiya, restaurants or inns, they will usually entertain guests at a teahouse. Okiya ( 置屋) A geisha lodging house. All geisha must be registered to an okiya, though not all geisha live in their okiya day-to-day. Okiya are usually run by women, many of whom are ex-geisha themselves. [9] Geisha may entertain guests within their okiya. Ozashiki ( お座敷) A term for a geisha's engagements, which may take part or the whole of an evening. The term ozashiki combines the name for a banqueting room, zashiki ( 座敷), and the honorific prefix o- ( お), changing the meaning to a term exclusively referring to the engagements a geisha takes. Shikomi ( 仕込み, ' preparation ' or ' training ') The typical first stage of a maiko's training. Shikomi wear kimono, though they do not wear the elaborate outfit, hairstyle and makeup of fully-fledged maiko. Tōde ( lit. 'distant outings') Geisha engagements not held in licensed restaurants, teahouses, or a geisha's own hanamachi. [7] History [ edit ] Origins [ edit ] While traditionally geisha led a cloistered existence, in recent years they have become more publicly visible, and entertainment is available without requiring the traditional introduction and connections. Also, Lugasi says maiko will sometimes wear high platform wooden okobo (slippers) while geiko will always wear flat ones, called zori. In modern Japan, geisha and their apprentices are a rarer sight outside of the hanamachi or chayagai ( 茶屋街, "tea house district", often referred to as "entertainment district"); most sightings of geisha and maiko in and around cities such as Kyoto are actually tourists who pay a fee to be dressed up as either a maiko or geisha for the day, a practice known as henshin. [35] [e]Parry, Richard Lloyd (2013-08-17). "Memoirs of a geisha scorned". The Independent. Archived from the original on 2022-05-15 . Retrieved 2021-06-15. Most geisha are single women, though they may have lovers or boyfriends over time, and are allowed to pursue these relationships outside of having a patron. In the present day, some geisha are married and continue to work in their capacity as geisha, despite it being uncommon; these geisha are likely to be based in regions outside of Kyoto, as its heavily traditionalist geisha districts wou Iwasaki became a maiko (apprentice geisha) at the age of 15, and was chosen as the house's atotori, or heir. Iwasaki also received the name "Mineko", as prescribed by a Japanese fortune-teller. By age 16, she had earned a reputation as Japan's most popular maiko and graduated to geisha status on her 21st birthday. Geisha are regarded in wider Japanese society as some of the most successful businesswomen in Japan, with almost the entirety of the karyūkai being owned and run by women. New geisha are trained for the most part by their symbolic mothers and older sisters, and engagements are arranged through the mother of the house. [9] [77] Canby, Vincent (1 June 1978). "Film: Mizoguchi's 'A Geisha' ". The New York Times . Retrieved 2 October 2022.