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In the novel Memoirs of a Geisha, the Golden accurately depicts the story of a poor, young fisherman’s daughter that was sold to become something better. She was sold to be a geisha. Her mother was sick and dying and her father was very old. Soon young Chiyo would not have someone to take care of her besides her older sister, Sayu. Sayu and Chiyo were soon separated when Chiyo was sold to the okiya in the hanamachi of Gion, and Sayu was taken to a brothel in the next district. Chiyo was put through vigorous training to become the best geisha in her geisha district. Through many downfalls, she made it. Geisha are a cultural icon of Japan that should be admired for their passion and dedication. The first geisha were originally men. They were called taikomochi or hōkan. Taikomochi was the Japanese version of the jester. They advised and entertained their feudal lords, known as daimyo, as well as acted as artists and story tellers. The taikomochi even fought next to their lord in battle. At a time of peace they dropped their role as advisors and became strictly entertainers. Some even joined the Oiran. Oiran are courtesans, or people of pleasure, who also played a big role in the origins of the geisha. The first female geisha was a courtesan. She thought she could earn more money in the hard economic times that she started entertaining people in the form of the arts instead of pleasure. This new role soon took over the role of the tayū or oiran. By the end of the 1700’s the female geisha heavily outnumbered the male geisha. Geisha houses would sometimes buy young girls from poor families to train them to be geisha. They would start out as maids and work until the mother of the house decided they were ready to go to school. As a maid, the young girl will also start working and helping the senior geisha of the house, which would include kneeling in the entryway of the okiya far into the night until the senior geisha came home. At the same time the geisha in training starts school she will register and she will also start observing the senior geisha dress in her kimono and apply her makeup. When the senior geisha first wakes up “she’s a woman like any other, and not a geisha at all. Only when she sits in front of her mirror and applies her make up with care does she become a geisha”(Golden 61). The assortment of classes the apprentice geisha attend include “Japanese instruments, traditional forms of singing, traditional dance, tea ceremony, flower arrangement, poetry and literature”(“Geisha”). Apprentice geisha are called Maiko. Maiko will begin by finding an one-san, or “older sister.” By accompanying her onee-san to her engagements at various tea houses, she will have the honor of silently watching the geisha at work. Here she will learn the necessary skills in the art of conversation and dealing with clients. After finally becoming a maiko, there are some “rites of passage” to become a full fledged geisha. First, the maiko must go through the Mizuage process. Mizuage is “a ceremony undergone by maiko to signify her coming of age”(“Geisha” Wiki). This ceremony involves the deflowering of the apprentice geisha by the highest bidding patron. This money will go towards the maiko’s future career as a geisha. Second, it is traditional that a geisha have a danna. A danna is usually a man that is wealthy enough to support the geisha’s training costs as well as other financial needs. The geisha and her danna may or may not fall in love, but the relationship between them is not fully understood; even by other Japanese. What is understood is that even though a danna supports a geisha he can also be married. The geisha’s performance is a very important part of her career, because “geisha” literally means artist. A geisha performs in many types of art such as dance, song, instruments, and plays. Typically maiko are the ones that perform the dance part of the entertainment. Song is a very important part of the performance, because while the maiko dance there will be a geisha that sings and sometimes one that plays the shamisen to set the beat. A shamisen is a three stringed instrument used by geishas that is played with a plectrum. The shamisen resembles a guitar and geisha go through vigorous training to master this instrument. In the older days of the geisha, a geisha will “winter train.” This is when the geisha, or maiko will put her fingers in ice cold water and play her shamisen until her fingers bleed. Another form of performance is plays. Plays are usually performed by geisha, where they dress in elaborate costumes depending on the role thay will play as. This is similar to the kabuki who are Japanese male actors. Just as geisha perform as the male role, a kabuki will play as a female, even as an actual geisha. Though they are relatively related, a maiko, geisha, and her ancestor, the tauū, are different in appearance. A maiko will wear a colorful kimono with long sleeves. Not only is the kimono brightly colored, but the obi is as well. The kimono and obi are also decorated with an elaborate pattern. The collar of the maiko’s kimono is made of a red and white pattern, and her obi is tied more fancily and higher up. The obi, like the sleeves of the kimono, is also a lot longer than the obi of a geisha’s kimono. Maiko will also wear many extravagant hair pieces in her actual hair, where as geisha will usually wear 2 ornaments, one big one small, and one comb in a wig. A geisha’s kimono has shorter sleeves with an obi that is tied in a box knot. A geisha and maiko will both paint their face, neck and chest with white makeup, leaving a v or w shaped patch of bare skin on the back of their neck. They will also be careful to not cover clear up to their hairline. They will then draw in their eyebrows and eyes with charcoal and paint their lips bright red. A tayū or an oiran is similar, but very different in appearance to the maiko or geisha. Their hair, hair ornaments, and kimono are a lot more elaborate, as the geisha will typically wear a simple patterned kimono. Geisha wear white split- toed socks with their geta(wooden flip flop like sandles), called tabi, where as tayū wear no tabi with their higher plat formed geta. Showing bare skin is erotic to Japanese men, especially showing their toes. A big difference between a geisha and a tayū, is the way they wear their obi. Instead of wearing it tied in the back like a geisha, a tayū will have it tied in the front so as to make access to her body easier. Another difference with the tayū’s ensemble is the immense layers to the kimono. Liza Dalby writes “Geisha are the naval of society”(Dalby 81). When journalist or critics broadcast Japanese tradition, geisha are used as the prime example. They are the key to the Japanese culture. There are many opinions on the social status of the geisha. “A few nostalgic writers suggested that Japan would lose something valuable if geisha were to change or to disappear”(Dalby 82). Geisha were busy at a time when times were tough. Money was scarce, so it was extremely valuable. Kimono cost thousands of dollars each and each okiya held many in a special storage building. So it was very logical that the mothers of the okiya were very worried about their okiya’s catching on fire. The training of a geisha costs lots of money, so it is imperative that she be very successful in her future career so that she may pack it all back to the okiya. This is where obtaining a danna is important, if a geisha can find someone wealthy enough to support her career, the less debt she’ll be accounted for. After WWII the career of the geisha steadily declined. Whatever geisha were left lost the “tradition” of their activity. After the Americans inhabited Japan geisha have adopted the western look and act. Things just weren’t done the same way it had in the past. Some Japanese towns had gone in ruin from the aftermaths of the war, causing the geisha to lose their okiyas, resulting in their forced early retirement. Some went back home to family, if they had any, but those that didn’t have family had to find an alternate home. Because geisha closely resembled the courtesans of Japan, they themselves were thought to be prostitutes. Geisha were not actually allowed to sell their bodies, or offer that service at all. People also thought they were prostitutes, because of their “services” to men. They entertained men and patrons through art and conversation. They would often flirt and make innuendoes jokes, but that was all the farther they would go. It was thought that what really attracted or satisfied men at these events was the idea of something they couldn’t have. Today there are only a few geisha left in Japan. Now, modern women are trying to bring back the tradition of the geisha, though girls are no longer required to start their training at a young age. Now girls will normally start their training junior high, high school, or even later than that. They don’t even have to complete their role as a maiko first, and just go straight to the status of a geisha. Because it is legal for kids to go to school until they are at least 16, girls can fully commit in their training by actually living in an okiya. Geisha are mainly known to be found in Kyoto, but those in Tokyo are also popular. The more accurate number of geisha in Japan would be 1,000 to 2,000 when there once use to be around 80,000. Sightings of geisha outside of the hanamachi, or geisha district, is extremely rare. Modern maiko are still trained in the traditional arts, but acts such as the mizuage ceremony have ended. From the beginning with the courtesans and the male entertainers, to the end with the dwindling numbers of a cultural icon, the geisha has had quite an impact on the culture and existence in Japan. Through arduous training, endless stereotyping, a struggling economy and war, they had endured and prospered in a developing country.
l BeautifulxOblivion l · Thu Mar 11, 2010 @ 08:45am · 0 Comments |
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