Author: Queen's lapdog
17 May 2021 12:10
Community: Facts
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Geisha are one of the most romantic mysteries of the East. Beauties with whitened faces and tiny legs, dancers and musicians, objects of sighs and violent passion. Their training, life and everyday life, and finally, their role in society, were quite unusual even for amazing Japan. Let's try to figure out this riddle.
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Geishas were prostitutes
Geisha musicians playing sankyoku music on shamisen, yokin and kokyu, circa 1900. Photo: Wolfgang Wiggers / Flickr Contrary to popular belief, geisha were not prostitutes or courtesans.
The word geisha Geisha, Osaka Prints: Glossary literally means “person of art.” These women were engaged in entertaining guests at o-zasiki banquets of noble gentlemen, where they served as musicians, dancers and comedians, poured drinks and engaged in small talk. In addition, geisha helped organize various parlor games like tosenkyo (throwing a fan at a target) or the Japanese analogues of “rock, paper, scissors” and gave sake to the losers. They provided musical accompaniment for the banquet, playing the shamisen (something like a Japanese balalaika), ko-tsuzumi (a Japanese drum held on the shoulder) and fue (flute). And if the guests wanted to compete in haiku writing, drawing or dancing, the geisha also took part in it.
It is more correct to compare a geisha with a presenter, singer, dancer, animator and hostess (and all this in one bottle) than with a prostitute.
If a geisha wanted to provide sexual services, she would put herself at risk, since the law prohibited her from engaging in prostitution and even appearing next to yujo - that’s what real moths were called in Japan. Of course, it is unlikely that this prohibition was never violated, but it still took place.
Perhaps the myth that yujo and geisha are one and the same began with The Asian Mystique: Dragon Ladies, Geisha Girls, and Our Fantasies of the Exotic Orient, Looking for the lost: journeys through a vanishing Japan thanks to the American military after the Second World War world war. Many prostitutes then pretended to be geishas in order to earn more money, although they did not have the right to do so. The Americans did not really understand who was who, and therefore began to mix these concepts.
How are they provided?
It has long been known that “you have to pay for everything.” The number of zeros in the amount a modern geisha earns per year makes girls strive to master this craft. But a significant portion of this money goes to the owner of the school for expenses incurred. And 28 kimonos a year take away some of the zeros from the most expensive silk. If you consider that nothing can be cheap for a geisha, then...
Then remember what the geisha herself gave for her welfare. This is usually freedom, family and ordinary youthful joys, to which she had no right.
Geisha is an exclusively female profession
Male comedian Taikomochi and Oyaso, wife of the samurai Suzuki Mondo.
Illustration: Utagawa Kuniyoshi / The Trustees of the British Museum / Wikimedia Commons When we say “geisha,” we always mean a Japanese woman with a strange hairstyle and a face covered in white powder. The thing is that it doesn't have to be a woman.
The first geisha were men - they were called taikomochi, which translates from Japanese as “drum carrier”, or hokan - “jester”. These were comedians, musicians, actors and experts in the tea ceremony. They told jokes and amused guests in noble houses. Or they lured visitors to taverns and brothels with indecent jokes.
And no, male “geisha” should not be called “gay”: they are completely different words. “Geisha” comes from the Japanese geisha, “man of art”, “gay” - from the English gay, “merry fellow”, “mischievous”.
This profession originated already in the 12th century, and then the hokans were called dobosyu - “comrade”, since they not only entertained the owners, but also served as advisers, interlocutors and companions with whom it was not boring to spend time. Later, with the end of the Sengoku period at the beginning of the 17th century, female jesters began to appear. The first of them was called Geisha Kasen - she was a prostitute, but was able to pay off the debt under the contract and, having gained freedom, became the first geisha.
There are now about five taikomochi left in the world. They organize holidays, competitions and work as presenters. You can even watch them perform on YouTube. Maybe this will amuse those who know Japanese.
In addition, geisha men can be called husuto - these are Japanese boys who, for a fee, can take you on a date, compliment you and have a drink with you.
Practice #1: Feel the moment
The first secret of geishas is the ability to enjoy life.
It is impossible to spoil her mood - there is so much beauty in the world, why be darkened by trifles? Maintaining a feeling of joy within herself, she creates an atmosphere of goodwill and happiness around herself, literally infecting everyone around her with her inner state.
What if there is emptiness inside? Will a woman without energy be able to attract a man into her life?
Learning to focus on the good is a habit that you can cultivate on your own. Pay attention to pleasant little things, lucky coincidences, enjoy a warm, fine day and the first spring crocus.
The level of happiness hormones in the brain is directly proportional to how a person reacts to a particular life situation. And the world works according to a simple basic law: what you focus on develops.
Our reality is shaped by what we give our life energy to. You should not feed problems with your attention - they risk turning into a huge avalanche of failures.
Instead you need:
- Explore your needs
What can bring a smile to your face and what can upset you - you should know these things about yourself. The scheme is simple: you know about your needs - satisfy them - become happy.
- Be constructive
Look at the problem as a task - shift your focus towards what can bring you the most benefit. This will help you not to dwell on old grievances, not to regret what has been gone for a long time, and to learn to see the optimal solution.
- Slow down to the here and now
Add the Slow motion effect to your life - stop rushing, running, jumping from one thing to another. Enjoy life to the fullest!
How can you be happy if even your morning coffee is drunk in a hurry in one gulp, and not savored one sip at a time? If you are not able to feel and appreciate all the joy of the current moment, to live the state of “here and now,” then how can you feel that you are happy?
Stopping and enjoying the simple pleasures of everyday life is truly living.
Geishas always wear makeup
A geisha without makeup and two maiko students.
Photo: Nils R. Barth / Wikimedia Commons Geisha are always represented by wearing traditional o-shiroi (Japanese for “white”) makeup, which is based on wax. The lips were painted with red safflower lipstick - beni.
However, contrary to belief, geisha did not always wear Geisha makeup. Basically, the face was whitened by maiko, geisha students, and novice geishas, and experienced ladies only wore makeup for especially important ceremonies. Starting from a certain age, makeup was not worn at all, since it was believed that the beauty of an adult woman did not need to be emphasized with cosmetics.
The situation was exactly the same with hair: a complex hairstyle with an abundance of decorations was created by inexperienced maiko. And adult women who had undergone training wore a simpler hairstyle, shimada. Older geishas generally simply collected their hair in a “shell.”
Appearance
Applying makeup is a whole ritual. Crimson lipstick is applied to half of the lips, giving them a seductive shape. A strip of unbleached skin remains along the hairline; geisha were able to turn this to their advantage by creating the illusion that they were wearing a mask. A piece of bare skin where it peeks out from under the kimono on the back emphasizes the sensuality of the bare neck.
Geisha from Nagasaki. Source: wikipedia.org
A geisha's most valuable possession has always been her kimono. A first-class geisha must have at least 22 of them. Made from the finest silk, each of them costs several thousand dollars. In reality, a kimono is not a dress or a robe, but a single piece of fabric that is wrapped around the body in a special way and secured with several belts. There are several types of kimono: formal, semi-formal and even sports (it is used during rehearsals). In winter and autumn they wear kimonos with a warm lining, in the spring they are made of cotton, and in the summer (from May to September) they are made of thin silk.
All the geishas were beautiful and young
Two geisha in Nagasaki leave a kenban, a geisha house.
Photo: Barry Silver / Flickr From the point of view of the Japanese in ancient times, geishas were truly the decoration of any holiday. But their ideas about beauty were somewhat different from ours.
In ancient times, geisha suffered from skin problems due to the costs of their profession. Because their makeup contained Geisha lead white, women often suffered lead poisoning until the 20th century. The makeup they used was also very specific: for example, uguisu-no-fun, a cosmetic product from Geisha Facials, was made from the excrement of a warbler (this is such a bird).
The word "uguisu-no-fun" is translated as "nightingale droppings." And in Japan it was considered prestigious and fashionable to smear the face with such a thing, which supposedly gave the skin smoothness and whiteness. True, modern researchers doubt The Nightingale Facial, Geisha Facials, Does the bird poop facial really work? that the urea and guanine contained in bird excrement are beneficial for the skin, but due to its high pH, uguisu-no-fun was also used to whiten sheets.
Due to the strong tension in Geisha hairstyles, the geisha's hair began to fall out over time, but they even managed to be proud of their receding hairline.
They were considered a sign that the geisha had spent enough time as an apprentice, and therefore was impeccably trained. Places with lost hair were covered with wigs.
With age, geisha often abandoned Geisha from such abuse of themselves and began to adhere to a more natural appearance. Many of them continued to work into old age. Moreover, mature ladies in the role of geisha were valued more by the Japanese: it was believed that only with age a woman’s beauty is fully revealed.
The oldest known geisha, Yuko Asakusa, lived to be 96 years old. She was born in 1923 and began Yuko's Dancing Soul to practice her profession at the age of 16, and continued to do so until her death in 2019.
So, if you invited a geisha, it is not a fact that you will be visited by a young beauty singing in a clear voice. Perhaps it will be an older lady, masterfully pouring tea and telling stories.
Geisheology: the science of refining
To become the embodiment of male happiness, they study for a long time. About ten years old. True, according to today's laws, you can start studying only after graduating from secondary school - at the age of 15-16. Previously, the girl was sold to an okiya (house where geisha are trained) for debts by her own parents. Now girls go into the profession themselves. But the world of flowers is cruel, most of them are eliminated at the initial stage, when the girl becomes a shikomi - an assistant in the collection of other older geishas. For two years.
The second stage (the girl is now called Minarai) is observing experienced geishas in order to adopt their tricks, mannerisms, movements, techniques for applying makeup, the ability to sing, dance, make ikebana, pour sake, write poetry and prose, draw, play musical instruments. At least on one - the Japanese national shamisen. And, of course, the ability to do the most important thing is to have a casual conversation with men. Knowing how to flatter their pride, liberate and flirt. Hint, but do not cross permitted boundaries. There is no continuation of a geisha's kiss, don't forget.
And yes. She must do all this “from the bottom of her heart” (but for money). However, there is no need for malice. Geisha will never entertain a company that is unpleasant to them. Even for the notorious tips, which are called “flower money” here. And if anyone decides to spread his hands, he can even get a fan. By the face. It really hurts.
And then one fine day the time comes for Minarai to become... not a true geisha, but just a maiko - a student, a young geisha. Maiko can already attend tea ceremonies, but not alone, but with her “elder sister” - an experienced geisha, who is appointed by the owner of the okiya. The “elder” and “younger” sisters undergo a special ceremony, after which they are bound forever. The first will teach the second all the subtleties of the art of seduction and help her gain popularity among the guests of the tea house. True, to begin with, the younger sister needed to undergo mizuage - a ritual of deflowering by a wealthy elderly man, who once a day for a week had to lubricate the girl’s labia with egg white, each time plunging his fingers deeper into her womb, and on the seventh day - to commit with her sexual intercourse This is not practiced today. Yes, things are very complicated for the Japanese.
A smile is enough for a geisha to charm a man.
A woman blackens her teeth while looking in a mirror, 1820. Illustration by Gototei Kunisada ga / Azumaya Daisuke / Public domain
Another thing that adds piquancy to the image of a geisha is her smile. However, she was not at all as captivating as we think.
Geisha followed the Japanese custom of blackening their teeth - ohaguro Handbook to Life in Medieval and Early Modern Japan. The juices of various herbs and fruits, as well as liquid from galls, parasitic formations on plant leaves caused by viruses, bacteria, fungi and arthropods, were used as a dye. This is not a particularly pleasant procedure.
To prepare ohaguro, the dye was mixed Handbook to Life in Medieval and Early Modern Japan with water and sake in a special container, and then red-hot rusty iron rods were placed there. All this stuff was kept for a week and then poured into the mouth. Yes, the Japanese are strange.
You probably won't want to kiss a geisha because teeth with ohaguro smell bad. In 1870, making ohaguro was prohibited Handbook to Life in Medieval and Early Modern Japan to all nobles, including members of the imperial family. Apparently, even the emperor is annoyed by the bad breath.
But Yujo prostitutes rarely blackened their teeth. Therefore, Ohaguro associated A Brief History Of The Smile with the decency of married women, whose long-lasting color on their teeth symbolized fidelity to their husbands.
Love and marriage
When a newly minted geisha turns eighteen, she can acquire her own patron - a danna. He buys the geisha a new kimono, expensive jewelry and generally provides a comfortable existence. Sometimes these two have an intimate relationship, and sometimes even love. But more often it’s just sympathy. Surprisingly.
A geisha can have several sexual partners, but more often she prefers one - her reputation is more valuable. She can even give birth to a child from danna.
A geisha can get married. And how! There are known cases when geishas were married by diplomats, ministers, princes, and oligarchs. True, after marriage a geisha must leave the profession. For this case, the intricate Japanese also have a ritual. All of their clients, tea house mistresses, “sisters” and “mothers” of the okiya should be sent a special treat - a box of boiled rice. If the rice is white, the girl will not return. If it's red, anything can happen.
The geishas were dressed to the nines
Geisha and oiran.
Photo: fortherock / Andrew O. / Wikimedia Commons Usually in films, geishas are presented as ladies not only with unnatural makeup, but also extremely brightly and impressively dressed. But this is not true at all. Yujo (prostitutes) and oiran (more expensive prostitutes) dressed colorfully.
Among geishas, only students and aspiring geishas wore brightly decorated kimonos. More experienced women dressed simpler and more modestly. Compare, for example, the clothing and hairstyle of the geisha and the oiran in the image above: the former has a plain kimono and simple hairstyle, while the latter has a colorful outfit and hair covered with jewelry.
In addition, oiran and yujo understandably tied the belts of their kimono so that they could be easily untied. Geishas were dressed by a special wardrobe attendant, otokoshi, and they could not remove the belt without outside help.
Let's look into the wardrobe
A geisha's wardrobe is unusually extensive, but does not allow any liberties. It certainly contains:
- At least 28 kimonos made of the finest, expensive silk. Each of them corresponds to a season, of which there are 28 in the Japanese year.
- A set of wigs made from natural hair and accessories for them - combs, hairpins, jewelry.
- Belt supporting the back (obi). The length and method of tying the obi determines the status of the hostess.
- Shoes with thick wooden soles - shoes or more often sandals. The color of the straps also indicates what stage of the geisha’s career she is at.
- Definitely white socks. They will not allow the owner to be confused with dubious women.
Speaking of geishas and available women.
In Western countries these concepts are identified. But this is a mistake. The reason for the confusion lies in the following:
- The habitats of both were at first adjacent;
- the first woman of this profession left a brothel;
- during World War II, women of easy virtue called themselves this mysterious word to attract American soldiers;
- unreliable literature on this topic.
In fact, these seductive women are successful and influential. They are not required to provide sexual services to clients. This is enshrined in law. But they find themselves a patron. Sometimes this is a philanthropist with whom there is no intimate relationship, but more often a lover. Donna (that’s the name of this benefactor) pays for expensive outfits, buys real estate, and takes care of her. But he is not a guest who pays for services. Only wealthy men can afford this. But for the sake of communicating with a mystery woman and confirming their status, rich Japanese are ready for this.
All geisha are Japanese
Prague women from the Japanese teahouse "Yokohama", dressed as geishas, circa 1908. Photo: Okinawa Soba (Rob) / Flickr
When Japan was an isolated and closed state, where gaijin were not allowed, so it was. But since the 1970s, representatives of other countries also appeared among geishas. Naturally, they took the Japanese pseudonyms Geisha, as expected in this profession.
Liza Dalby, the blue-eyed geisha, The Apprentice: Memoirs of a Chinese geisha wannabe in Japan, citizens of the USA, China, Romania, Ukraine, Peru and Australia were spotted among the geishas. They were trained in special okiya houses, and therefore had every right to be called geisha.
People of art
Or rather, “art is a person” - this is how two hieroglyphs are translated from Japanese, sounding like “gay” and “xia”. Gay-sha is wrong, in the Western way. It’s also Western to consider geishas to be prostitutes. It is a myth. Geisha is more advanced and subtler. Soul for money. Sublimation of a courtesan. Incomprehensible, like a hieroglyph, and simple, like the dawn of a new day.
To a first approximation, he is a cross between a toastmaster and a psychologist. In the second - the embodiment of a man's dream. Japanese dream. But it is not prosaic, like the entire culture of the Land of the Rising Sun. Understanding it is an art that geisha learn throughout their lives. The main commandment is to endlessly please a man without losing your dignity. To be “delicate like a flower and flexible like a willow.” Open and mysterious. Naive and wise. Seductive and inaccessible. A living doll. Madonna and whore. Perhaps a geisha is not only the embodiment of a Japanese man’s dream.
Geisha were sold into slavery
Witch Mizuki.
A still from the film 47 Ronin Because of the film Memoirs of a Geisha, based on the novel of the same name, many believe that little girls were literally sold into slavery by their impoverished parents. But this is also not entirely true.
Many new girls ended up in geisha houses (the so-called okiya) quite voluntarily in order to earn extra money and get an education and profession. Other maiko apprentices were the daughters of adult geishas, and they inherited their craft as Geisha. Although it often happened that poor girls who had no other way to pay off their debts became geishas (this is clearly better than being a yujo).
By the way, Mineko Iwasaki, who became the prototype of the heroine of “Memoirs of a Geisha,” was outraged by the way geishas were portrayed there. She sued the novel's author, Arthur Golden, and then wrote A Geisha, a Successful Novel and a Lawsuit, her book True Memoirs of a Geisha.
Nowadays, girls who have reached the age of 15 become geishas at will. And before that they must obtain a school certificate.
Geisha education system2
In the post-war years, the mortality rate among military men decreased significantly. This is due to the decrease in the influx of noble girls into the geisha profession. Therefore, it was necessary to cover the deficit by developing an entire system for educating girls.
When a woman reached old age, she became a mentor to many students; according to Japanese customs, she was now called “mama-san.” Girls were selected for training at a very young age. Children aged 5-7 years began to be ransomed from peasant and fishing families in villages throughout the country.
Parents willingly gave the girls up to be raised. At that time, contraception did not yet exist. Several children were born in families. Boys were a great help to parents. They often tried to get rid of female children. In Japan, there was even a method of “thinning”, when excess mouths were simply disposed of due to a lack of food and means for survival.
Moreover, families understood that becoming a geisha for a girl was a great success. Having mastered such a profession, she will definitely not remain on the threshold of poverty and hunger.
At the same time, life in the tea house was not joyful and cloudless. Mastering all the necessary skills required patience, restraint and strict discipline. There was no talk about personal freedom. I had to constantly be in the process of education and gruelingly train my skills. Taking care of the girls fell entirely on Mama-san.
She was assigned to support them: feed them, clothe them, pass on her skills. If a girl did not make a serious effort and refused to obey, then she could be kicked out. The fate of geishas who did not go through school was not enviable. They often became prostitutes or even died of hunger, since they could not expect help from their families.
After fully mastering all the rules and regulations, the girl began to work and reimbursed her mother-san for the expenses incurred in raising her. The reckoning came quite quickly, because the demand for geishas only increased.
Only wealthy Japanese could afford to spend an evening with a good geisha. There was also a rule according to which Mama-san could sell the virginity of a 13-year-old geisha girl to a noble gentleman. However, the action was not a one-time event. The man who received virginity was obliged to support the girl and paid huge amounts of money to her abbess.
Adult girls were also bought cartridges. They became mistresses of wealthy gentlemen and received in return a comfortable life in their own home. This was accompanied by high status and access to the highest society. And what qualities a geisha should have, we read in our article further on the link.
There are no more geishas left
Geisha at the Matsuri festival in Tokyo.
Photo: Wilhelm Joys Andersen / Wikimedia Commons If you think that geisha have long disappeared into history, you are very mistaken: they exist in Japan to this day! They hold tea ceremonies and serve in traditional Japanese restaurants, and also work as musicians, comedians and toastmasters.
True, real geishas are rare today, and their numbers are declining. Modern-day geisha triumphs in closed, traditional world, World's oldest geisha looks to future to preserve past. So, if you find yourself in Japan, you will most likely have to take a selfie with a painted animator girl who has no idea about ancient oriental art.
Dedication
This procedure took place almost like a ritual, it was called mizu-age, and it was performed by one of the elderly and respected clients of Hanamichi. The attitude towards virginity in geisha culture was reverent: maiko had no idea about this side of relationships with men, so the right to the first night was very expensive, and the client was selected for this purpose with special care. At the end of the procedure, the maiko ceased to be a student and became a full-fledged geisha, having from that moment the right to a special hairstyle.
Maiko changes her hairstyle five times, symbolizing each step leading to becoming a geisha. In the mizuage ceremony, the tuft of hair at the top of the head is symbolically cut to create a more mature hairstyle to mark the transition from a girl to a young woman. From now on, she wears her hair with a red silk bow at the base of the bun.
Intimate secrets
As already mentioned, a geisha has many secrets that are important in intimate relationships. Such knowledge distinguished them from other girls. And they, by the way, are one of the reasons why most men want to know who a geisha is. The main one of these secrets is compliance and affection. A geisha should not argue with a man, she should fulfill his wishes and always make concessions.
Another secret of a geisha is trained intimate muscles, which allow her to give pleasure to a man. In addition, this allows a woman to maintain her feminine health for a long time.
