Geishas In Japanese Culture

Geishas have been part of Japanese culture for more than 400 years. However, for those that do not know about their culture, their role in society seems a mystery. A Geisha is a traditional female Japanese entertainer for male customers. They are usually hostesses for events, and geishas perform various arts and hold a conversation with the men they entertain. Geishas are often mistaken as prostitutes, but they only sell their talents, not their bodies, to the rich. The rise of the Geishas overtook the “Yujo”, a type of courtesans in popularity during the time. Geisha came to be a rival to Yujo due to cost and fashion. The Geisha provided a more sophisticated form of diversion that was more appropriate for the upper class. The artistic entertainment of a Geisha would all be offered at a good price. Geishas eventually began to appear all over Japan. Teahouses were first licensed in Gion in 1665 and then Pontocho in 1712. Kikuya was the first women to call herself ´geisha´ in 1750 in the Fukigawa region.

The first stage is shikomi. This stage is of servitude when a girl works as a maid to the okiya, and she attends school until she turns 15. The second stage is misedashi. In this stage a girl becomes a maiko and an older geisha becomes her mentor. The next stage is a geisha’s career is minarai. After her misedashi a maiko can now become a public member of the community. However, she has not completed her training and has to learn the ways of the geisha through observation. At last a geisha comes to complete fulfillment in the stage of mizuage. In this stage a maiko loses her virginity to a client that has paid a lot for her, even though this is forbidden by Japanese prostitution