(or or ) are traditional female Japanese entertainers. They are skilled at different Japanese arts, like playing classical Japanese music, dancing and poetry. Geisha are not prostitutes, despite what some people think.
The term geisha is made of two Japanese words, () meaning "art," and (), meaning "person who does" or "to be employed in." The most literal translation in English is "artist." Geisha are respected as artists and performers, and it is difficult to become one.
Kyoto is the city with the strictest geisha traditions. Geisha have worked there for the longest time. Becoming a professional geisha can take up to five years of training in Kyoto.
Apprentice geisha are called . The name comes from (), meaning "dancing," and (), meaning "child." wear white make-up called and long-sleeved kimono with many bright colors. in some places wear a belt, called an , that is up to long. Many wear fancy hairstyles made with their own hair, but in some places, they wear wigs instead. Full geisha wear simpler kimono and wear white makeup only for special occasions. Geisha also wear wigs and have a much shorter kimono belt.
There are also geisha in other cities, but there are differences. In Tokyo, becoming a full geisha takes from six months to a year. Geisha apprentices in Tokyo are called , which means "half jewel" or "half pay." Apprentice geisha in Tokyo are also called , which means "one who serves (alcohol)." Geisha in Tokyo are normally older than those in Kyoto.
Many geisha still live in traditional geisha houses called in neighborhoods called , which means "flower town." Older geisha who are successful may have their own home. A geisha always needs to be registered to a geisha house to be allowed to work.
The world that geisha are a part of is called , which means "the flower and willow world." One very famous geisha, , said that is because a "geisha like a flower, beautiful in her own way, and like a willow tree, gracious, flexible, and strong."
Geisha are considered to be cultural icons of Japan.
History
Before geisha appeared, some women worked as artists and entertainers. In the Heian Period (794-1185), women entertained people at the Imperial Court by singing and dancing and were known as .
Later, women who worked as prostitutes and courtesans entertained men in the red-light districts of Japan. In 1589, authorized the building of a neighborhood in Kyoto that was closed from the outside with walls. Called , it was dedicated to pleasure. was established as an official red-light district in 1640, and became one of three areas in Japan in which prostitution could be practiced legally. The other two were in Tokyo, which had been established in 1617, and , in Osaka.
Thelose areas were known as and were the only places that women were allowed to be prostitutes. Courtesans were collectively called and were very expensive. also entertained men with singing, dancing, poetry, music and conversation. The highest-ranking were the , who did not engage in prostitution, under the other . Instead, they would have one or two rich clients act as their patron; those men would pay a lot of money to be entertained by their clients.
could turn men away and could decide who they would entertain. were raised from a young age to be very skilled in different types of art and entertainment, and many of them became celebrities. Many woodblock prints and paintings exist of famous , and other .
Geisha appeared only much later, during the Tokugawa period. Originally, geisha were men, who travelled throughout the red-light districts to entertain clients with music, dancing, and poetry. Such men were known as geisha but were also called , and because they played the , a Japanese drum.
Male geisha were very low-class entertainers, but were considered to be upper class. Every man who wished to be with an had to follow difficult rituals and etiquette and to have enough money to pay for her time. That meant that only the richest nobility got to be entertained by . Many tea houses () appeared outside and offered entertainment that was not offered inside . At some of the tea houses, some women practiced cheaper prostitution and were called . However other women, who were called ('dancing girls'), acted as dancers and musicians and soon became very popular. They started calling themselves 'geisha', like the male artists who worked in .
By about 1700, female geisha had become much more popular than male geisha. A few years later, almost all geisha were women.