BLOG POST 11
My fascination for Japan started in childhood when my parents bought two paintings of Japanese ladies in Moore market of Madras. I used to look for hours at their kimonos and painted faces, fans and umbrellas and dream that I would one day visit Japan and see beautiful Japanese ladies
My dream materialized and here I was in Gion, famous for its active community of geishas and geisha training houses.
The term "geisha" is made of two Japanese words, (gei) "art" and (sha) "person who does"
I asked our tour guide whether geisha still existed and she said yes they still exist. There are around 300 of them and most of them are in Kyoto
Geiko (or ‘fully fledged’ geisha, and maiko their apprentices) are often spotted in Gion dressed elegantly in their beautiful kimonos and obi which fastens the kimono at the back, and with Oshiroi a skin whitening makeup and hair styles
Geishas are entertainers who take clients for nights of dining, drinking, performing tea ceremonies and entertaining with song, poetry and classical Japanese dance
Contrary to popular belief, geisha are not Eastern equivalent of sex workers , a misconception originating in the West due to foreign interactions with oiran (courtesans) and other sex workers, whose appearance was similar to that of geisha.
Many tourists visit Gion ardently hoping to catch a glimpse of a geisha or maiko on their way to or from an engagement at an ochaya in the evenings or while running errands during the day but most of the girls are wearing the kimono for that day and there have been unfortunate instances of tourists behaving like ruthless paparazzi in recent years.
In the early stages of Japanese History, saburuko (serving girls) were mostly wandering girls with families displaced by war. Some offered sexual services for money while others with a better education made a living by entertaining at high-class social gatherings.
After the imperial court moved the capital to Kyoto in 794, conditions that would form geisha culture began to emerge, as it became the home of a beauty obsessed elite and skilled female performers and dancers thrived.
Traditional Japan embraced sexual delights and men were not constrained to be faithful to their wives. The ideal wife was a modest mother and manager of the home and love between the couple had secondary importance. For sexual enjoyment and romantic attachment, men did not go to their wives, but to courtesans.
In 1617, the shogynate designated "pleasure quarters", outside of which prostitution was illegal to practice, where yūjo ("play women") would be classified and licensed.
The highest rank of yūjo was the geisha's predecessor, the tayū. Tayū were a combination of prostitutes and actresses who originally performed in Kyoto.
Pleasure quarters quickly became glamorous entertainment centers that offered additional services other than sex. The highly accomplished courtesans of these districts entertained their clients by dancing, singing, and playing music.
Some were renowned poets and calligraphers as well. Gradually, they all became specialized and a new profession dedicated to entertainment emerged at the turn of the eighteenth century
Surprisingly the first geisha were men who entertained customers waiting to see the most popular and gifted courtesans.
By 1800, the profession of geisha was entirely female who began to successfully establish themselves as artists, entertainers and more intelligent lady companion than their cloistered cousins in the red light districts of Japan.
By 1830s, geisha were considered to be the fashion and style icons in Japanese society, and were emulated by women of the time. Many fashion trends started by geisha soon became widely popular
World war II brought a drastic change to the geisha profession and geisha numbers which had been as high as 80,000 before the war fell drastically
After the war, restrictions on geisha practices were lifted with tea houses, bars and geisha houses (okiya) allowed to open again and working as a geisha was still considered to be a lucrative and viable career, with numbers increasing quickly and geisha returned to wearing kimono and practicing the traditional arts
Before the twentieth century, geisha began their training at a young age, around the age of six.
Compulsory education laws passed in the 1960 s effectively shortened the period of training for geisha apprentices, as girls could no longer be taken at a young age to be trained throughout their teenage years. Labor laws stipulate that apprentices only join an okiya aged 18
Young women who wish to become geisha now most often begin their training after high school or even college and take the personal decision to train to become a geisha . Many women begin their careers in adulthood
The two stages before an apprentice officially debuts as a maiko are known as shikomi preparation" or "training", followed by a minarai , "learning by observation" period, an apprentice will receive training through one specific tea house.
Before debuting as a maiko, apprentices may live at the okiya as shikomi - essentially a trainee, learning all the necessary skills to become a maiko, as well as attending to the needs of the house and learning to live with her geisha sisters
By watching other geisha and learning from the mother of the house (known as the okā-san ), apprentices learn how to speak with guests, the mannerisms necessary to be a geisha and the traditions and also learn how to comfortably wear kimono
Daughters of geisha were often brought up as geisha themselves, usually as the successor or daughter-role to the okiya.
A maiko is an apprentice and is therefore bonded under a contract to her okiya who usually supplies her with food, board, kimono, obi, and etc, but a maiko may decide to fund everything herself from the beginning with either a loan or the help of an outside guarantor.
A maiko's training is very expensive and debts must be repaid over time with her earnings and only when her debts are settled can a geisha claim her entire wages and work independently
After this point she may chose to stay on living at her okiya but must still be affiliated to one to work, and even living away from the okiya, will usually commute there to begin her working evening.
Charge for a geisha's time used to be calculated by the time taken to burn one incense stick and is now a flat fee charged per hour. However, appointments and arrangements are made by the mother of the house through the official registry .
The maiko and geisha decorate themselves with hair combs and hairpins (kanzashi), with geisha wearing far fewer kanzashi than maiko.
Typical combs and hairpins may be made of tortoiseshell or mock-tortoiseshell, gold, silver and semi-precious stones such as jade and coral.
The tourists have to book for an experience of being entertained by a maiko or geiko while dining at an ochaya. As expert hostesses, maiko and geiko ensure everyone's enjoyment by engaging in light conversation, serving drinks, leading games and performing traditional music and dance.Some of these shows are even heavily pre booked
As our tour in Gion was during the afternoon we could see only one or two geishas obviously returning from shopping and they looked exquisite and beautiful
My fascination for Japan started in childhood when my parents bought two paintings of Japanese ladies in Moore market of Madras. I used to look for hours at their kimonos and painted faces, fans and umbrellas and dream that I would one day visit Japan and see beautiful Japanese ladies
The term "geisha" is made of two Japanese words, (gei) "art" and (sha) "person who does"
I asked our tour guide whether geisha still existed and she said yes they still exist. There are around 300 of them and most of them are in Kyoto
Geiko (or ‘fully fledged’ geisha, and maiko their apprentices) are often spotted in Gion dressed elegantly in their beautiful kimonos and obi which fastens the kimono at the back, and with Oshiroi a skin whitening makeup and hair styles
Contrary to popular belief, geisha are not Eastern equivalent of sex workers , a misconception originating in the West due to foreign interactions with oiran (courtesans) and other sex workers, whose appearance was similar to that of geisha.
After the imperial court moved the capital to Kyoto in 794, conditions that would form geisha culture began to emerge, as it became the home of a beauty obsessed elite and skilled female performers and dancers thrived.
Traditional Japan embraced sexual delights and men were not constrained to be faithful to their wives. The ideal wife was a modest mother and manager of the home and love between the couple had secondary importance. For sexual enjoyment and romantic attachment, men did not go to their wives, but to courtesans.
In 1617, the shogynate designated "pleasure quarters", outside of which prostitution was illegal to practice, where yūjo ("play women") would be classified and licensed.
The highest rank of yūjo was the geisha's predecessor, the tayū. Tayū were a combination of prostitutes and actresses who originally performed in Kyoto.
Pleasure quarters quickly became glamorous entertainment centers that offered additional services other than sex. The highly accomplished courtesans of these districts entertained their clients by dancing, singing, and playing music.
Surprisingly the first geisha were men who entertained customers waiting to see the most popular and gifted courtesans.
By 1800, the profession of geisha was entirely female who began to successfully establish themselves as artists, entertainers and more intelligent lady companion than their cloistered cousins in the red light districts of Japan.
By 1830s, geisha were considered to be the fashion and style icons in Japanese society, and were emulated by women of the time. Many fashion trends started by geisha soon became widely popular
After the war, restrictions on geisha practices were lifted with tea houses, bars and geisha houses (okiya) allowed to open again and working as a geisha was still considered to be a lucrative and viable career, with numbers increasing quickly and geisha returned to wearing kimono and practicing the traditional arts
Before the twentieth century, geisha began their training at a young age, around the age of six.
Compulsory education laws passed in the 1960 s effectively shortened the period of training for geisha apprentices, as girls could no longer be taken at a young age to be trained throughout their teenage years. Labor laws stipulate that apprentices only join an okiya aged 18
The two stages before an apprentice officially debuts as a maiko are known as shikomi preparation" or "training", followed by a minarai , "learning by observation" period, an apprentice will receive training through one specific tea house.
By watching other geisha and learning from the mother of the house (known as the okā-san ), apprentices learn how to speak with guests, the mannerisms necessary to be a geisha and the traditions and also learn how to comfortably wear kimono
Daughters of geisha were often brought up as geisha themselves, usually as the successor or daughter-role to the okiya.
A maiko's training is very expensive and debts must be repaid over time with her earnings and only when her debts are settled can a geisha claim her entire wages and work independently
After this point she may chose to stay on living at her okiya but must still be affiliated to one to work, and even living away from the okiya, will usually commute there to begin her working evening.
Charge for a geisha's time used to be calculated by the time taken to burn one incense stick and is now a flat fee charged per hour. However, appointments and arrangements are made by the mother of the house through the official registry .
The maiko and geisha decorate themselves with hair combs and hairpins (kanzashi), with geisha wearing far fewer kanzashi than maiko.
Very informative article includimi historical importance of Japanese culture
ReplyDeleteVery informative article includimi historical importance of Japanese culture
ReplyDeleteThanks Dr Prashanth
ReplyDelete