Geishas Vs Courtesans

The Yoshiwara district was the government sanctioned brothel district on the outskirts of the city of Edo in historic Japan and within the Yoshiwara district you could find both geishas and courtesans. These women where easily recognizable, highly sought after, and viewed as fashion icons of their time. Although, both entertainers, geisha and courtesan were two different occupations.
Geishas, which translate to artist, were skilled hostesses and entertainers. They were educated to have a knowledge of many artistic traditions. Geishas represented the charm and sophistication of high-class women and were expensive to purchase. These women were easily identifiable as they wore heavy, white makeup with read accents around the lips, eyes, and

eyebrows. The white makeup come close to the hairline and at the back of the neck, two pointed stripes are left uncovered to expose two strips of unmarked skin. The neck is considered an erotic zone so showing this unmarked skin in that area is appealing to the clients. Originally, the white makeup they wore was a lead based substance and was toxic leading to many of these women dying young or having extreme health problems. Today modern Geishas do not sue toxic makeup. Their hair, or rather wigs, were elaborate hairstyles that were typically worn with up knots and hair ornaments. These women wore elaborate kimonos that matched the current season and the obi on their kimonos was tied in the back. Geisha women varied in appearance however. For example a young beginning geisha who had less stable clients would dress more elaborately to attract more clients, where as a mature geisha could ware less makeup and simpler kimonos because her cliental was established and her finances were taken care of. Moreover, a women who wants to become a geisha must go through extensive training and schooling. Young girls start at the age of nine as hangyoku, which is more of an assistant or a maid to a actual geisha. During this time of schooling, they would eventually become a Maiko and rise to the position of a apprentice to a geisha. This period happened around age 15 and would last for two to five years. After much training, a Maiko becomes a full-fledged Geisha.
Additionally, courtesans, known as Oiran, were described as being, “women of pleasure”. The word Orian translates to older sister or literally meaning leader of flowers. Courtesans differed from ordinary prostitutes because they were also entertainers. Much like the Geisha, these women were required to be educated and skilled in many arts such as calligraphy, ikebanana (known as flower arrangement), music, dance, and sado (the ways of the tea ceremony). These girls also wore elaborate kimonos but theirs had colorful and bright patterns to keep up with the fashion. Their hair was often full or ornaments and was larger in size compared to geishas. Their obi, or sash around the waist, was tied rather in the front than the back. The profession would start at a very young age as many of these women were purchased from poor desperate families, such as those of peasants and poor farmers. These young girls would study under an older courtesan as an apprentice and any money they made would be given to the brothel and then given back to the family who sold their daughters into the profession. Courtasons ranked in class among themselves. The highest rank a courtesan could have is Tayu, spending a night with them was extremely pricey and being of this rank gave the courtesan a right to refuse working with a particular client. Lower ranking courtesans did not have this right.
Geishas and courtesans could also be seen in artwork at that time, mostly in woodblock prints that advertised the Yoshiwara district.

The 19th century woodblock artist, Utamaro, has many examples of these types of prints of both courtesans and geishas. For example, an interesting series of Utamaro’s prints include his “Five Kinds of Ink from the Northern Provinces” created in 1790. These prints include different ranks of women working as courtesans and range from depicting upper class to lower class courtesans. The images of the higher-ranking courtesans are shown in a position of education, depicted as beautiful, classy women, and are representative of a type of courtesan you would prefer to purchase as a client. Where as the prints of the lower class courtesans are less glamorous and instead presented in a way for people to view the not attractive lifestyles of these women. Utamaro may have had a sense of empathy for these lower-class women and may of represented them in this way because he wanted to educate people about these women’s lives or to educate clients on what type of courtesan they were purchasing. Additionally Utamaro created many prints of different ranking geishas and created scenes capturing the daily lives of all these kinds of different girls. His work, portrays these women in an idealized forms; they were tall, slender, elegant women, with dark, beautiful hair, dark, raised eyebrows, rounded faces, white skin, and had tiny

features.
Furthermore, despite what the beautiful prints depicted of the lavished beautify of these women, these paintings and prints are artifact constructs that did not represent the reality. These women were envied for their life styles and beauty, but in reality they were oppressed. Most of the women involved didn’t have a choice about their occupation. Often they were born into impoverished farming or fishing villages, and were sold to brothels by desperate parents around the ages of 7 or 8. Courtesans were not allowed to leave the district unless they had written permission from the owner of the brothel they worked for. They were subject to venereal disease, unwanted pregnancy, or harsh treatment at the hands of clients or even their sister courtesan. The makeup they wore to whiten their faces, necks, hands, and feet were made out of toxic lead and many died young. Geishas lived hard lives too, and were often subject to much abuse and enormous debt in their trials of becoming a geisha.