"Geisha," the word itself is probably mispronounced as often as are the women
it identifies, misunderstood. Pronounced "gay-sha," the word translates as
"art person" or "person of the arts" and that is simply what geisha are,
practitioners of arts that reach back in time more than three centuries.

Geisha are masters of those arts, having undergone rigorous training in music,
dance, calligraphy, the tea ceremony, as well as conversational and social
graces. Geisha are skilled story tellers and, singers, as well as proficient
accompanists on their three-stringed shamisen.
The geisha system had its beginning during the Tokugawa era, in the 17th century,
when Japan was at peace, isolated from the outside world and when samurai
and merchant had time and wealth enough to indulge themselves
in the pleasures of the "floating world."

There was then, as there is today, a strong hint of the exotic, of fantasy in
the very word, "geisha" and the sound of it can still conjure up images
of a time long past; a time when when the sounds of laughter and
shamisen drifted from the tea houses into the night air as
samurai strutted down the streets of Edo.

The first geisha who appeared at parties and celebrations banging their drums, singing songs and telling funny stories were men; gradually however, women began appearing to challenge the male entertainers and by mid 17th century, female geisha had attained a dominance which soon became their monopoly.

The beauty, gentility, grace and skill that women brought to the geisha scene
served to inspire countless musicians, poets and artists who sought to
capture the spirit and images of the geisha's "willow world."

In spite of the modern transformation that Japan has experienced in the
last one hundred or even fifty years, tradition remains a strong,
persistent ingredient within the base of all that is new.

So it is with the geisha who, like the swordsmith or kabuki actor or woodblock artist or
even the sushi chef, must undergo a long and trying apprenticeship before she
can officially attain the status of "geisha." In early times, girls began this apprenticeship
while still pre teens; however,today the age for entering geisha training is fifteen.


Fledgling geisha are called "maiko" and their dress, hair stlyles and makeup
are quite different from that of their "elder sisters." Maiko wear somewhat
brighter and showier kimono, bound at the waist with a long sash
("darari-no-obi") that nearly reaches the ground,and for
footwear, distinctive high wooden clogs ("okobo").

Unique hair styles, hair ornaments and stark white facial makeup gives the maiko
the dream-like quality of a porcelain doll. Perhaps because they still lack the skills
of their elder sisters, the maikos' appearance must rely more on outward showiness
but, by the time they reach their early twenties, diligent and successful maiko
are ready to put aside their doll like accouterments and take up the subtler
shades of kimono and more sophisticated demeanor of "geisha."

Up until the end of the second World War, geisha were the trend setters
of high fashion and good taste but with the changes that have taken
place since then, that role has disappeared.

In the late 1970's, the number of registered geisha fell to around
1,500 and today, there are probably fewer than a thousand
women practicing the profession and lifestyle of geisha.

In the tea houses ("ochaya") of Kyoto's Gion and Pontocho districts geisha perform
and entertain their guests who usually have a long relationship with the ochaya,
as new customers are rarely admitted without proper introduction.

As in times long past, when geisha helped to soothe the worries and cares of samurai
and merchant, the sounds of shamisen and song that fill today's ochaya are a haunting
reminder of tradition's persistence. Inside the teahouses of Gion or Pontocho, it is now
perhaps the tired businessman or harried politician who half fancies himself as the bold
samurai of yore whose cares are eased and ego lifted by the lovely, gentle geisha who
fills his sake cup, laughs at his cleverness and sings only to him!

A somewhat curious sidelight to this world of geisha was provided by a recent
article that appeared in the travel section of my Sunday newspaper. The half
page story related the success of more than forty shops in Kyoto catering to
Western tourists and Japanese women as well who pay $100 to $350 to be made
up and attired as maiko or geisha. For a slight additional fee, these "90 minute
geisha" may obtain photographs of themselves and stroll around a nearby temple
ground reveling in the spectacle of camera hounds jostling to take their pictures.
More than 70,000 patrons each year avail themselves of the services of these
"geisha studios" contributing a not unsubstantial boon to the Kyoto economy.

Although the ranks of true geisha grow thinner each year, and fewer teenagers
find such a ritualized and rigorous life attractive, it would be too presumptuous,
in light of their proven staying power, to predict the geisha's disappearance in
the near future. Geisha are a link with the past and Japanese are reluctant to
abandon such ties. If the number of paying customers at the busy "geisha
studios" is any indication, geisha are still respected, imitated and even
admired for their commitment to a way of life that is
admittedly out of tune with today's Japan.

It may well be that geisha provide a comfortable reminder for the human need
to remember the way things used to be. Women who pay a handsome sum to
stroll the streets of Kyoto in the guise of geisha certainly offer testimony to the
fascination and mystique that these women who "practice the arts" still possess.

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