Geisha are a dying breed in Japan.
By definition, a geisha is a professional entertainer specializing in traditional Japanese skills such as dance, singing, playing traditional instruments and even serving tea. It takes years of work and dedication to perfect the performance skills required of a geisha so as time goes by, the number of women willing to practice the traditional arts embodied by the geisha continues to diminish.
In Kyoto, a geisha is known as a geiko and an apprentice geiko is called a maiko. It is easy to tell the difference between geiko and maiko as their makeup, kimono, hairstyle and choice of shoe are very different. In fact, the white make-up and elaborate kimono and hair of a maiko is the image that most non-Japanese have of geisha.
For me, there is no other image that I more strongly associate with Japan than the maiko. For the Japanese, they are considered to be the epitome of traditional Japanese femininity.
As described in wikipedia,
"The scarlet-fringed collar of a maiko's kimono hangs very loosely in the back to accentuate the nape of the neck, which is considered a primary erotic area in Japanese sexuality.
She wears the same white makeup for her face on her nape, leaving two or sometimes three stripes of bare skin exposed. Her kimono is bright and colorful with an elaborately tied obi hanging down to her ankles. She takes very small steps and wears traditional wooden shoes called okobo which stand nearly ten centimeters high."
"The scarlet-fringed collar of a maiko's kimono hangs very loosely in the back to accentuate the nape of the neck, which is considered a primary erotic area in Japanese sexuality.
She wears the same white makeup for her face on her nape, leaving two or sometimes three stripes of bare skin exposed. Her kimono is bright and colorful with an elaborately tied obi hanging down to her ankles. She takes very small steps and wears traditional wooden shoes called okobo which stand nearly ten centimeters high."It's no wonder they have to shuffle their feet to walk!
The origins of the geisha date back to the 7th century AD to a time when they were entertainers. Along the history timeline, it seems that the lines between entertainer and prostitute have often blurred. Whatever your opinion may be of these women, there is no doubt that it takes a tremendous amount of devotion and dedication to live the geisha life.
Prior to child labor being outlawed in Japan, geisha began their training at a very young age and were commonly bonded to okiya (geisha house) as children. Today, a woman who desires to be a geisha begins her training as a minari which literally means "learning by watching" and the person she watches is the geisha who has agreed to be her mentor. Following in the shadow of her mentor, the minari has the opportunity to learn the finer aspects of being an entertainer including holding up her end of a conversation and participating in games. It is also her opportunity to start and build up a list of potential clientele.
The next stage towards being a full fledged geisha is being a maiko. Maiko are bonded under a contract to an okiya (geisha house) when they are in their mid-teens. The okiya supplies her with food, board, kimonos, obis and other tools of the geisha trade. Training to be a geisha is very expensive and whatever debt the maiko accumulates during her training period must be repaid to the okiya with the earnings she makes. Only after a maiko fully repays her debt to the okiya is she then allowed to move out to live and work independently. Maiko live a very cloistered, controlled lifestyle. You can imagine why few teenage girls would want to give up their modern lives to be maiko and you can also understand why some westerners would find similarities in the maiko/okiya relationship and that of pimp/prostitute.
After years of training but before the maiko reaches the age of 25, she is then promoted to being a geisha.
With few exception, geisha and maiko usually provide entertainment only to their paid customers and only "behind closed doors". One of those exceptions is a dance performance known as the Miyako Odori which is held only in the month of April and only in Kyoto. Timed to coincide with the arrival of spring, the ceremony is an absolute must see! Of course, we are going!! With help from Mike at Samurai Tours, we have tickets for a performance on April 21.
I have no idea what the performance is going to be like. I'm expecting geisha playing music and doing some dances. It should be interesting. Our tickets also allow us to attend a tea ceremony before the performance so we get to see the maiko up close.
The Miyako Odori, also known as the Dance of the Capital, originated in the Meiji period, not long after Kyoto was supplanted by Tokyo as the nation's capital. Afraid that the vibrant cultural treasures of the ancient imperial seat would fade, Kyoto's governors searched for a way to develop and promote the old capital. Inspired by the group performances of Kamenoko Odori in Ise Furuichi, they humbly requested the maiko and geiko of Gion, whose popularity and numbers were at a peak, to present a dance to the public as a side show to a special exposition they would hold at the Imperial Palace. It was here, in 1872, that the Miyako Odori was performed for the first time and it has been performed in Kyoto ever since though today, it is held in the Gion Kaburenjo Theatre and not the Imperial Palace. The Gion District in Kyoto is home to the geisha so it makes sense that they perform in their own neighborhood, so to speak.
I'm excited that we got tickets to this special event as it will probably be the only time, in our lives, that we will ever be entertained by geiko and maiko!
