Geisha: Icon and Anomaly

Geishas are different.

The district of Gion in downtown Kyoto is the center of the geisha district of Japan. A museum here showcases the profession.

The concept of the geisha is a cultural feature unique to Japan, and it is difficult for outsiders to understand it. A young girl about 14 to 16 years of age makes a commitment to be a geisha, either because she chooses it or because her family urges her to do so. She is enrolled in a boarding school with the strictest rules. She is on trial for one year, after which she may be released from the school if she is judged to be insufficiently talented or pretty. During that time she begins to learn complicated dance and musical routines that are as old, respected and as well known to the Japanese as Shakespeare.

Once she is accepted into the school, she begins to live like a nun. She cannot have an iPhone, an iPad or any other electronic device to communicate with the outside world. She may not see her family, but is allowed occasionally to write them letters. She may not leave her dormitory without a chaperone. She is trained, not only in dance and music, but also in the art of conversation, etiquette, dress, make-up, art, literature, and any other subject that will be useful in her professional career. That career will be focused exclusively on entertaining men.

From the time she is 16 years of age until about the age of 22 this regimen continues. During that time she is called a maiko, and her kimono is marked by a red sash around her neck under her kimono. Later as an advanced maiko, her sash will be white.

When she is around 22 or 23 years of age she takes an examination, which, if she passes, earns her the title of geiko. At that point in her career, she is released from all of the old school rules and is considered an independent contractor, a professional geisha. She is not allowed to marry, but she may have a boyfriend. Indeed, it is permitted for a geisha to have a baby as long as she does not marry.

A large number of young women leave the profession at this point to marry and raise a family. However, a few remain in the profession, and a very few emerge from this phase as a geisha superstar. Most geikos earn a decent living, as wealthy businessmen invite a team of three or more geikos to perform for their affluent male clients who come to visit Japan.

Legally prostitution is forbidden in Japan, but in practice a wealthy businessman may engage a geiko for services beyond singing and dancing. In fact, a goal of the few geisha superstars is to hook a so-called “sugar daddy” to support her financially for life, to provide her with an apartment and to become his mistress.

Whether one finds the custom acceptable or not, the geisha lifestyle is a lonely one. There is intense competition among the geikos, professionally, financially and personally throughout their lives. A geiko can have few friends.

To us Westerners the contradictions in the geisha lifestyle seem enormous. But to the Japanese, it is simply a profession that is a respected cultural tradition.Weiterlesen