What is A Geisha

The word Geisha means "artist" in Japanese. Geisha are professional hostesses who entertain guests through various performing arts in tea houses called O-chaya. They are trained in a number of traditional skills such as Japanese ancient dance, singing, playing instruments such as the Shamisen, flower arrangement, wearing kimo no, tea ceremony, calligraphy, conversation, alcohol serving manners and more. Geisha continue to study and perfect these skills throughout their careers as geisha. A successful geisha must demonstrate beauty, grace, artistic talent, charm, impeccable etiquette, and refinement. Only guests with a long time connection with the tea house are allowed and tea houses generally don't take on new clients without an introduction. The profession of a geisha is a very expensive business and a geisha party can easily cost thousands of US dollars. The total number of geisha in the 1920's was 80,000, but today the number of geisha has dropped to 10,000 due to the westernizing of Japanese culture. Geisha must train themselves in various traditional arts such as classical dancing, playing the Shamisen, and several styles of singing in the hanamachi (geisha community). Today, geisha women may also be models or go on international tours, for example.Geisha work by entertaining guests at expensive tea houses. They will serve drinks, talk with the guests, and perform. Geisha women maintain many different relationships with men. They are not prostitutes. It is appropriate for geisha to have a patron (danna), whom she is involved with emotionally, economically, and sexually, however it is up to the geisha whether she wants one or not. Geisha wear their hair in a bun or a uniform style with a single comb and two pins. They also wear elegant kimonos and beautiful white make-up. Geisha also entertain at business banquets or parties for a considerable amount of money. There they engage in conversation, and perform for the guests. Geisha will either perform "Tachikata" which mainly does traditional Japanese dance or "Jikata" which mainly sings or plays an instrument. Tachikata are usually the maiko girls while Jikata are older geisha women. They also pay greater attention to the guest of honor. Geisha also do not discuss anything that was said at a party or business meeting outside.Geisha do not prepare or serve food. They also never have a one-night stand. How to Become a "Geisha To become a geisha, you had to be the daughter of a geisha or accepted by an O-chaya. Usually beautiful little girls who were orphaned or from poverty stricken families were sold to an O-chaya by relatives. The O-chaya would invest a lot of money to train these girls and dress them in brightly colored kimonos. In the O-chaya, the okamisan ("mother" who runs the house) taught the girls. They performed various chores while observing the geisha. When they reach a certain level, the girls become "Maikos" (15-20 year old girls) which are apprentices to geisha. A maiko accompanies a geisha on her appointments to learn and become accustomed to the job. Usually at the age of 20, a maiko girl decides if she is going to become a geisha. If she gets married she must quit. The initiation ceremony is called "erigae" and means "changes of collars". At one time this was when the collar of a maiko changed from red to white. Also, this was when a girl underwent mizu-age, a ceremony that revolved around the girls losing her virginity to the "highest bidder." This does not take place anymore. Example of a Maiko