Geisha: Lady of Arts

By Katharine

Warnings: Rated G.

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The classic image of the traditional Japanese Geisha (GAY-shə) has long spurred imaginative fancies, both in her own home country and far abroad. She is an enigmatic, almost mythical figure, known the world over for her ethereal beauty and cultured elegance. Her face is painted a uniform white, her lips stained blood red, and her hair is an elaborate crown of molded twists and delicate ornaments. Her shape is hidden beneath numerous layers of fabric in brilliant hues, and her small feet perch delicately atop high wooden sandals. She is often pictured plucking a shamisen (a traditional Japanese instrument similar to a Western guitar), her slender fingers flitting expertly over the strings as she lends her voice in song, or gracefully pacing out a fluid dance routine, her hands nimbly manipulating a generously decorated fan. She has haunted tea houses, festivals, and pleasure quarters for hundreds of years, accumulating prestige and intrigue as one of the most recognizable personages in Japanese history.

For all of her fame, however, the Geisha is widely misunderstood and misrepresented, especially in the Western world. For one thing, the familiar painted and bedecked stereotype is not an accurate representation of a true Geisha. Geisha are often confused with maiko and tayuu (or oiran). Maiko are young women in training to become Geisha, but they have not yet attained Geisha status. Their chalk-white faces are noticeably shadowed with cherry pink blush, and their brightly colored kimono are accentuated by sumptuous patterns and trailing furisode sleeves. Tayuu and Oiran are even further from genuine Geisha, as they once referred to the highest classes of courtesan in the Yoshiwara (Tokyo) and the Shimabara (Kyoto), respectively. Their attire is significantly more opulent, featuring multiple layers of kimono and highly complex hairstyles. The Geisha, by contrast, embody the elegant beauty of minimalism. Their kimono are modest in design and hue, and their hair and makeup are likewise tastefully simple.

Another key myth concerning Geisha is that they are little more than lavishly decorated prostitutes. It is true that the Geisha (or Geiko, as they were initially called) originated in the pleasure quarters of eighteenth-century Tokyo, and indeed worked alongside the high-class courtesans of the day, but the primary wares of genuine Geisha have never been their bodies. The word geisha literally translates “art person” or “one trained in arts.” The authentic Geisha is a woman proficient in such skills as singing, dancing, tea ceremony, and poetry. She is trained to entertain men by means of her charm, her wit, and her artistic performance. For instance, one might find a group of present-day Geisha and their patrons maintaining a lively conversation atop the Yuka, a large platform constructed over the banks of the Kamogawa River. In March, the clientele of Kyoto’s Pontocho hanamachi (literally “Flower Town;” a Geisha/Geiko community) enjoy presentations of the ceremonial Suimeikai dance. Additionally, both Kyoto and Tokyo boast a number of tea houses (ochaya) and/or restaurants (ryotei) where modern Geisha continue to entertain guests.

Why, one may ask, do these women persist in such an antiquated profession, while the rest of their home country springs forward to join the West’s technological race? The truth is that the Geisha are far more than a collection of old-fashioned artisans; they embody the ageless beauty and enigmatic charm of an era long since eclipsed by cross-cultural mingling and technological development. The traditions the Geisha preserve hearken back to the roots of a swiftly vanishing culture, offering a rare glimpse into their nation’s past and upholding the pride of a history rich in creative flair and artistic achievements.

Sadly, the surviving hanamachi districts have begun to decline in recent years. Due to the rapid escalation of industrial trade and the subsequent influx of Western-style entertainment, public interest in the Geisha and the traditions they represent has waned dramatically. Furthermore, today’s young women are often daunted by the professional Geisha’s strict standards and challenging lifestyle. As a result, Japan now boasts less than one thousand officially registered Geisha, and their numbers decrease with each passing decade. If allowed to completely vanish, they will take with them some of the most striking remnants of their country’s unique cultural and historical flavor—a loss that will surely be felt for generations to come.

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Explaining Essay written for Composition I.