Latest news with #geisha
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
What REALLY happens when you spend an evening with a geisha? Two-hour 'invite-only' sessions with traditional Japanese hostesses can cost up to £2,500
The powerful image of the geisha - scarlet lips across an alabaster-white painted face, a glossy black wig and ornate kimono - has been associated with Japanese culture since the 17th century. Yet, even in the age of social media, the true lives of these traditional female hostesses, the most successful of whom can charge 500,000 yen a night - around £2,500 - for two hours of their time, remains shrouded in mystery. The country's biggest geisha community remains centred around the historic streets of Gion in Kyoto, Japan 's former capital, where they reside in highly private houses, protected from the prying eyes of camera-wielding tourists by bamboo curtains and dark, latticed wooden windows. Geishas rarely use their real names, and glide around the city between evening appointments with their heads down, awaiting an opening sliding door at the teahouses (ochaya) or traditional houses (okiya) where they perform in private. When a wealthy tourist or businessman or woman taps on the door, typically between 6pm and 10pm, the exclusive entertainment that awaits them is a much more salubrious affair today than it once was. Until the Second World War, geishas in training - known as 'maikos' - would only be considered to have full geisha status after their virginity was taken by a client. The practice of mizuage - deflowering a geisha - has long since been outlawed, but the idea that these enigmatic women - more commonly known in Japan as geikos - sell sexual services has been harder to shake. Post-war, when Japan was occupied by Allied soldiers, the image of 'getting a geisha girl', prostitutes who would dress in traditional Japanese clothing for sexual liaisons with soldiers, carved out a stereotype that modern geishas, highly skilled conversationalists, musicians and dancers, have fought against ever since. Arthur Golden's book Memoirs of Geisha, published in 1997 and made into a film by Steven Spielberg in 2005, in which he wove real-life anecdotes from geishas into a fictional story, did little to quell the seedier side of geisha life. The book portrays a world where sexual boundaries are pushed by rich men and degradation is commonplace, with geishas tied to a code of silence about what happens in the time spent with clients. One of the geishas Golden spoke to, Mineko Iwasaki, later sued him for defamation - after he named her in the credits of the book, settling out of court with the author. So revered as a geisha during her working life, she was dubbed 'one in a hundred years' - and told a Manhattan court in 2001 that Golden had betrayed her trust and painted geishas as merely playthings for wealthy men. Seeking a percentage of the $10 million in sales generated by the book, she said at the time: 'I told him many things about the geisha world. I did everything I could for him. 'But the condition was that he would not use my name or my family's name in the book - it was based on this that I agreed to talk with him. In the end, all those promises were broken.' A Netflix series in 2023 served up a more wholesome depiction of modern geisha life - focusing on the strong bonds formed between young maikos. The Makanai: Cooking for the Maiko House focused on the food geishas in training are served in the houses they share with other maikos and the mother figure assigned to them, known as an okami-san. However, it's clear that choosing a life that honours old Japan is much less enticing than it once was - the numbers of geishas working dwindles year-on-year. Teenage girls who do make the decision, usually when they finish Junior High at around 15, to become a maiko must leave their families behind, seeing them just twice a year, with no access to a mobile phone. In Kyoto, many maikos spend their days at the surprisingly large geisha school on Hanamikoji Dori, practising the dances, hospitality and musical recitals they will perform for paying clients in the years to come. While some geishas work on an invitation-only basis, tourists can pay - via an agency - for a two-hour experience, with dinner, performances, games and conversation, typically costing around 50,000 yen (£250) for each geisha in attendance, plus up to around 30,000 yen for each meal taken (£150). Those who want to enjoy the experience on a more regular basis can sign up for an subscription account, charged monthly to cover all of the costs associated with a geisha dinner, from the taxi ride to get there to the private hire of the ochaya. Exclusivity and trust is everything, with new accounts only given to those who can provide a guarantor. The traditional dress maikos wear differs from those of geishas; their own hair is exposed, only their lower lip is red, and they are seen wearing a long and flowing back sash with high wooden sandals. Upon achieving geisha status, both lips are coloured red, sandals are lower and the back sash is shorter. Training to become a geisha takes five years, with maikos becoming geikos at the age of 20, when they must leave their house-share and find their own accommodation, where they live alone. A local Kyoto guide explains that many maikos don't make it though. 'They're away from their families, they can't use a phone - they must communicate by letter - and it's very hard for them.' And even when full geisha status is achieved, those who work in the industry must often find their own clients. The worst thing that can happen to a geisha? Cupid strikes. Says our guide in Kyoto: 'There are some geishas who are working until they are 70 but those who want to marry and have children must leave the profession.' Recent years have seen a new battle emerge in Kyoto too, with geishas faced with tourists desperate to catch a glimpse of them as they walk to and from work in the four main geiko districts. Signs warning of fines of up to 10,000 yen (around £50) for non-consensual photographs, introduced in 2019, had previously failed to prevent people approaching geishas and in 2024, residents of Gion urged the city council to take action against tourists harassing geishas. On TikTik, one clip shows a geisha trying to swerve an irrepressible tourist armed with a smartphone as she makes her way down Hanamikoji street, with onlookers pleading with the sightseer to stop. A woman in one clip, shared by @gogotrain51718293628190, can be heard telling the holidaymaker: 'You can't do that, it's so rude'. Locals say the popularity of the districts had seen them overrun with sightseers, many of whom who will stop at nothing to get the perfect photo - one local described Gion's streets as being treated like a 'theme park'. Several streets are now off limits for the 'geisha paparazzi', with only those who've paid for a geisha experience, and local residents, allowed to enter. What's clear is that this enduring celebration of Japanese culture, while diminishing with each year that passes, remains just as fascinating now as it was hundreds of years ago.
South China Morning Post
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
How Japan's Azuma Odori, 100-year-old geisha festival, offers glimpses of dying tradition
The geishas glide with measured steps across a wooden stage, offering a glimpse of a long-misunderstood tradition that is becoming a rare sight in Japan. Dancing with paper fans and dressed in kimonos , the entertainers were rehearsing without the striking white make-up and sculpted hairstyles they are famous for. But for seven days until May 27, the women will perform in full splendour at the 100-year-old Azuma Odori festival at a theatre in the heart of the Japanese capital, Tokyo. In the popular imagination, geishas are often confused with courtesans , but in fact their work – as trained masters of refined old art forms – does not involve selling sex. Geishas rehearsing before the 100th edition of the Azuma Odori festival at the Shinbashi Enbujo Theatre in Tokyo. Photo: AFP Geishas rehearsing before the 100th edition of the Azuma Odori festival. Geishas are a rare sight in modern Japan. Photo: AFP 'Japanese people themselves often don't understand or have the wrong idea about what geishas do,' Hisafumi Iwashita, a writer specialised in geisha culture, says.
Malay Mail
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Malay Mail
Misunderstood and vanishing: Century-old Tokyo geisha festival revives dying art
TOKYO, May 21 — The geishas glide with measured steps across a wooden stage, offering a glimpse of a long-misunderstood tradition that is becoming a rare sight in Japan. Dancing with paper fans and dressed in kimonos, the entertainers were rehearsing without the striking white make-up and sculpted hairstyles they are famous for. But for seven days from yesterday the women will perform in full splendour at the 100-year-old Azuma Odori festival at a theatre in the heart of the Japanese capital. In the popular imagination geishas are often confused with courtesans, but in fact their work — as trained masters of refined old artforms — does not involve selling sex. 'Japanese people themselves often don't understand or have the wrong idea about what geishas do,' Hisafumi Iwashita, a writer specialised in geisha culture, told AFP. In Japanese, the word geisha means 'person of the arts' — a woman or man trained in traditional Japanese performing arts. But the core role of geishas goes far beyond 'just dancing and singing,' Iwashita said. Geishas in different parts of Japan are also known for different skills. In Kyoto, where they are called geikos, 'dance is seen as the most important artform,' Iwashita said. Tokyo geishas meanwhile are known for their singing and talents on the shamisen, which resembles a slim three-stringed guitar. This year for the first time ever, geishas from 19 Japanese regions are participating in the annual Azuma Odori, as well as those from Tokyo's Shinbashi district who usually perform. This photo taken on May 8, 2025 shows Shinbashi geishas rehearsing under the watchful eyes of instructors before the 100th edition of the Azuma Odori at the Shinbashi Enbujo Theatre in Tokyo. — AFP pic Around 180 geishas will take part overall, taking to the stage in small groups for two shows each day. Koiku, a Shinbashi geisha, said her job first and foremost involves 'welcoming and entertaining visitors at traditional restaurants called ryotei'. Entry to these expensive, exclusive establishments, found in historic geisha districts known as hanamachi, is by invitation only. This picture taken on May 20, 2025 shows Shinbashi geishas rehearsing at the Shinbashi Enbujo Theatre before the 100th Azuma Odori festival in Tokyo. — AFP pic 10 year's training Today around 40 geishas work in Shinbashi — many fewer than in times gone by — and all of them will appear at the Azuma Odori. 'Not so long ago, there were 100 of us, then 60... and the number keeps going down,' Koiku said. Life as a geisha is tough, with a strict practice schedule even for established performers. 'In general, it takes 10 years to be seen as competent,' said Koiku, who was enticed by her love of music and dance. The geishas' choreography, watched by their instructors and accompanied by live musicians at the rehearsal, includes playful touches such as miming the movements of a fox. It is not polite to ask a geisha's age, but some taking part in the show have been performing for five or six decades. Koiku said she is worried that if nothing changes, it will be 'too late' for the waning geisha tradition. Azuma Odori's roots date back to Japan's 1868–1912 Meiji era, when dance began to take a more central role in geisha performances. Geishas, who would entertain government officials at banquets, played 'a key role' in shaping modern Japanese culture, according to the expert Iwashita. He thinks the main reason for the falling number of geishas in Japan is simply that they have fewer clients. While geishas once made a living from Japan's wealthy elite, in 1993 then-prime minister Morihiro Hosokawa called for an end to government banquets in ryotei restaurants. That was a 'tough blow for the industry', Iwashita said. Koiku agrees that the 'world has changed' — including the type of socialising where business deals are sought. 'Nowadays, companies are increasingly organising receptions in their offices or other venues,' she said. Shinbashi Enbujo Theatre, where Azuma Odori will take place, was inaugurated in 1925 with the festival's first edition. It was rebuilt in 1948 after being destroyed in World War II, and its lavish post-war performances influenced Japanese kabuki theatre before being simplified to audience tastes. With the future of the geisha profession uncertain, for Iwashita, 'the fact that such a theatre still exists, and that it is the 100th anniversary (of Azuma Odori) is nothing short of a miracle'. — AFP
