July 26th, 2016
Geisha is a term referred to traditional Japanese female entertainers highly trained in Japanese traditional arts. The book and later movie “Memoirs of a Geisha” gave us an insight to the Geisha culture. Just how much of that was reality? What I learned from this night was that being a Geisha was an honor. They don’t spend much time in public and when they do, they attract a lot of attention. It is an honor to be a Geisha and they attract a lot of attention when they are in public.
In Kyoto, a Geisha does not liked to be called a Geisha but rather a Geiko. Geisha is more specific to Tokyo. Maiko is a term used for a Geiko in training. They start training when they are a teenager learning the arts until they become a Geiko in about 5 years. While a Maiko, there are no wigs, the Geiko can wear a wig but the Maiko cannot. They also wear different clothing with a longer sash in back and longer sleeves. The Maiko talked about how difficult it was to sleep with the hair. The get it redone once a week and it has to last the week.
Our entertainers entered the room and sat down right in front of us and I mean, right in front of us – opposite our little tables, one on one. They introduced themselves, gave me a little sticker/card with their name on it and explained what their name meant. Here was the girl, all done up, I grew up hearing about them and seeing movies about them and one sits down in front of you. What do you say after “Hello?” – “Where did you get that Kimono?”, “Ever see ‘Memoirs of a Geisha?”, suddenly I felt like a schoolboy at his first school dance.
They were really good at making conversation even though there English was limited. They had things tucked away in their sash and sleeves, they pulled out fans and name cards, tissues, makeup mirrors. They made conversation and they served drinks, poured beer, and posed for pictures and made conversation.
It was a very special evening!
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