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Geisha

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Women dressed as maiko (apprentice geisha) in Kyoto, Japan
Characters for Geisha, lit. "person of the arts".

Geisha (ja:芸者 "person of the arts") are traditional Japanese artist-entertainers. The word geiko is used in Kyoto to describe such persons. Geisha were very common in the 18th and 19th centuries, and are still in existence today, although their numbers are dwindling. "Geisha," pronounced /ˈgeɪ ʃa/ ("gay-sha") is the most familiar term to English speakers, and the most commonly used within Japan as well, but in the Kansai region the terms "geiko" (芸妓) and, for apprentice geisha, "maiko" (舞妓) have also been used since the Meiji Restoration. Only the term "maiko" is used in Kyoto's districts. The English pronunciation ˈgi ʃa ("gee-sha") or the phrase "geisha girl," common during the American occupation of Japan, carry connotations of prostitution, as some young women, desperate for money and calling themselves "geisha," sold themselves to American troops during WWII. In China the word for geisha is translated as "yi ji," which sounds like the "ji" in Chinese meaning prostitute. These things and the concept of mizuage have caused further confusion over the true intention of the geisha profession.

Skills

Geisha take lessons in several arts forms for their entire lives, not to entertain customers but as a lifetime vocation in and of itself. Geisha houses (okiya) sometimes took in young girls from poor families and took responsibility for raising and training them. During their childhood, apprentice geisha, called maiko, worked first as maids, then as assistants to the house's senior geisha as part of their training and to contribute to the costs of their upkeep and education. This long-held tradition of training still exists in other traditions in Japan, where a student lives at the home of a master of some art, starting out doing general housework and observing and assisting the master, and eventually moving up to become a master in her own right (see also irezumi).

While some geisha may study dance or the shamisen since childhood, maiko do not enter until junior high school. Many geisha today do not enter until adulthood, and some enter after finishing college or university. The course of arts study encompasses a wide variety of arts, including the shamisen, percussion, flute, voice (singing), classical Japanese dance, tea ceremony, and more rarely flower arranging (ikebana), poetry and literature. In addition, by watching and assisting senior geisha, the students also become skilled in the complex traditions surrounding selecting, matching, and wearing precious kimono, in various games and the art of conversation, and in dealing with clients.

Relationships

A geiko entertains an American businessman at a gathering in Kyoto Gion.

Geisha are often hired to attend parties and gatherings, traditionally at tea houses (茶屋, chaya) or at traditional Japanese restaurants (ryōtei). Their time is measured in incense sticks, and is called senkōdai (線香代, "incense stick fee") or gyokudai (玉代 "jewel fee"). Another term used to describe fees is "ohana," or flower fees. The customer makes arrangements through the kenban (検番), or geisha union office, which keeps each geisha's schedule and makes her appointments both for entertaining and for training.

Geisha are not prostitutes. Because they entertain men behind closed doors in an exclusive manner, there has been much speculation about the underpinnings of their profession. The confusion that surrounds this issue has been complicated by Japanese prostitutes who wish to co-opt the prestige of the geisha image, and by inaccurate depictions of geisha in Western popular culture. Although an individual geisha may choose to engage in sexual relations with one of her patrons outside of the context of her role as geisha, traditional and codified geisha engagements will never involve sexual activity.

Occasionally, a geisha may choose to take a danna (an old fashioned word for husband), which is typically a wealthy man who has the means to support the very large expenses related to arts training and living. Although a geisha may fall in love with her danna, the affair is customarily contingent upon the danna's ability to financially support her lessons and performing costs. The traditional conventions and values within such a relationship are very intricate and not well understood, even by many Japanese. Because of this, the true intimate role of the geisha remains the object of much speculation, and often misinterpretation, in Japan as well as abroad.

Modern Geisha

The Gion geiko district (hanamachi) of Kyoto, Japan

Geisha can still be found living in traditional geisha houses called okiya in areas called hanamachi (花街 "flower towns"), but many chose to live in their own apartments instead. The elegant, high-culture world that geisha are a part of is called karyūkai (花柳界 "flower and willow worlds"). Kyoto is where the tradition is the strongest. Two of the most prestigious and traditional geisha districts in Japan are Kyoto's Gion and Pontochō. The geisha in these districts, who prefer to be called geiko-san, are skilled and dedicated performing artists. However, geisha who reside in the Tokyo hanamachi of Shimbashi, Asakusa and Kagurazaka are also very accomplished.

In modern Japan, even in Kyoto, geisha and maiko are now a rare sight - in the 1920s there were over 80,000 geisha in the whole of Japan, but today there are fewer than 1,000. Visitors to Kyoto's Gion district may catch a glimpse of a maiko on her way to work, but they are far more likely to see tourists (both Japanese and foreign) who have paid to be costumed and made up as maiko as part of a souvenir photography session. A sluggish economy as well as a lack of interest in the traditional arts tends to dissuade young would-be customers from supporting this way of life.

Geisha dress

Since their emergence from the pleasure quarters geisha have worn traditional kimono. The color, pattern, and style of kimono was dependent on season, but the kimono is always worn in three layers (the outer kimono and two layers of undergarments), regardless of season. In the winter, geisha can be seen wearing a three-quarter length "overcoat" lined with hand painted silk over their kimono. In the spring, the obi becomes very important. During the springtime, the waistband was often more expensive than the kimono and ornately decorated. The spring kimono also had a crimson lining. In the summer, the lining is removed, and the kimonos were typically of brighter colors and different designs. Again in autumn, the crimson lining reappears, as well as new colors and designs.

Geisha wear a flat-soled sandal outdoors, and traditionally go barefoot indoors. When the weather is bad geisha wear raised wooden clogs, called geta, that are attached to the foot in the same way that the usual thong sandal is. Maiko wear a special black lacquered wooden clog.

Geisha hairstyles

The hairstyles of geisha have varied considerably over history. Before the time of T'ang China, it was most common for women to wear their hair down but during the time of T'ang China, it became popular to tie one's hair up. Women then returned to wearing their hair parted in the center and hanging straight down. Again during the seventeenth century, women began pulling all their hair up again and it is during this time that the traditional hairstyle, shimada, developed. This is the hairstyle worn by geisha and generally means that all the hair is pulled back in one section.

There are four major types of the shimada: Taka Shimada, a high chignon (a kind of knot of hair), usually worn by young, single women; Tsubushi shimada, a more flattened chignon generally worn by older women; Uiwata, a chignon that is usually bound up with a piece of color cotton crepe; and a style that ends up looking like a divided peach, typically worn by maiko.

These hairstyles were decorated with elaborate hair-combs and hairpins, which often symbolized status. In the seventeenth century and after the Meiji Restoration period, hair-combs were large and conspicuous, generally more ornate for higher-class women. During the Meiji restoration and in this modern era, smaller and less conspicuous hair-combs are more popular.

Geisha and maiko make-up

History and evolution

Today the make-up of geisha is one of their most recognizable characteristics, but historically this has not always been the case. The origins of white face make-up in Japanese culture are largely disputed. Some believe that it originated in China and was later adopted by the women in the Japanese court. Its use in Japan can be dated back as early as the Heian Era (794-1185 AD), a time when Chinese influence was high.

Women during the Heian period used rice-flour powder or lead-based powder mixed with water, which formed a thin paste, and applied this paste to their faces as a foundation. They would then remove their eyebrows with tweezers and paint in thick false eyebrows high on their forehead. To redden their lips, the women used juice from benibana or sallflower (beni). After this they would blacken their teeth by staining them with a mixture of oxidized iron filings steeped in an acidic solution. The black colouring was not permament and would have to be reapplied every few days or so. This custom ended during the Meiji period. The Heian make-up and appearance was later adopted by courtesans in the pleasure quarters, and by actors on the Kabuki stage. Because geisha and the Kabuki actors are both primarily dancers, it should come as no surprise that their make-up developed similarly.

When geisha began to emerge from the pleasure quarters, they did not apply their make-up in the same way as the courtesans; their look was much more subtle. The geisha make-up was simple and light to match their kimono, which was made with plain patterns. The geisha's simpler appearance was due to government regulations which were instituted to prevent the geisha from competing with the courtesans. The geisha's style and make-up would soon come to be seen as chic, while the courtesans' appearance would come to be seen as old-fashioned.

Application of make-up

In the beginning a Maiko wears heavy white make-up almost all the time, until she has been a geisha for three years. During initiation the maiko is helped with her make-up by either her older sister or okasan; after this she applies the make-up herself. After a geisha has been working for three years, she changes her make-up to a more simple style. The reason for this is that she has now become mature, and the simpler style shows her own natural beauty. For formal occasions the mature geisha will still apply white make-up. For geisha over thirty, the heavy white make-up is only worn during special dances which require her to wear make-up for her part.

The application of the make-up was hard to perfect and was a time consuming process. Make-up was applied before dressing to avoid getting it on the kimono. First, a wax or oil substance, which is called bintsuke-abura, was applied to their skin. This was put on to the face, neck, chest and nape area. Next, white powder was mixed together with water into a paste and applied with a brush to the face, neck, chest and nape. Originally, the use of white lead for the face was quite common, but, as is known today, lead is highly toxic and led to illnesses and an untimely death for some of the geisha who used it. Today, modern cosmetics are used. When applying the foundation, geisha leave a line of bare skin around the hairline, which gives the illusion that they are wearing a mask. On the nape of the neck they leave two “V” shape lines unpainted.

After the foundation a sponge is patted all over the face, throat, chest and the nape and neck. This is done to soak up the excess moisture from the water; it also blends all of the foundation into a flawless-looking mask. Next the geisha paint their eyes and eyebrows, which are drawn on. Traditionally charcoal was used, but today modern cosmetics are used. The eyebrows and edges of the eyes are coloured black; a maiko also applies red around her eyes.

Next come the lips, which are filled in using a small brush. The colour comes in a small stick (traditionally sallflower), which is melted in water. Crystallized sugar is then added to give the lips luster. This appears to come from the fact that in Japanese history very small lips were once considered sensual and attractive.

The growing interest in geisha and their exotic looks has spawned many "copycat" make-up lines in western culture, partly due to the popularity and success of the novel "Memoirs of a Geisha". In 1999 American singer Madonna appeared in her music video for "Nothing Really Matters" dressed in "geisha" garb with a faux kimono and heavily influenced make-up. Make-up companies jumped on the popularity of geisha. In Australia, a brand of make-up called "Poppy" created a line of make-up called "geisha".

References

  • Dalby, Liza Crihfield (1983). Geisha. Berkeley, California, United States: University of California Press
  • Downer, Lesley (2000). Geisha: The Secret History of a Vanishing World. London.
  • Foreman, Kelly M. (2002). "The Role of Music in the Lives and Identities of Japanese Geisha." Ph.D. dissertation. Kent, Ohio, United States: Kent State University.
  • Manabu Miyazaki (2005). Toppamono: Outlaw. Radical. Suspect. My Life in Japan's Underworld. Kotan Publishing. ISBN 0970171625.
  • BBC television documentary Geisha Girl. First shown on UK channel BBC Four in January 2006.
  • Naomi Graham-Diaz. "Make-Up of Geisha and Maiko". Immortal Geisha (2001). link - last accessed on January 19, 2005.

See also

Video

Male counterparts

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