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Linh Pham
UWRT 1102
Emilia Grants
1 April 2015
Geisha Empowerment
Geisha, art person, also known as the protector of Japanese culture. They represent the
living art, possessing extraordinary dancing skills as well as music skills. They are masters of the
shamisen, which is a three-stringed traditional instrument, similar to the modern days ukulele.
The instrument produce mellow sounding music, perfect for accompanying the narrative singing
called

joruri.

The

narrative

stories

portrayed

love

for

nature

and

interpersonal

romance(Wikipedia). Aside from their talents, geisha are trained in the art of Japanese tea
ceremony as well as everyday etiquette. Although they are discipline to be feminine, geisha have
been characterized as outstanding conversationalist due to their ability to conduct business like
conversation with powerful Japanese male figures. Throughout the history of Japan, geisha are
role models, lovers, enemies, muse, and downfall. However, till this day they are still considered
one of the most iconic representation of Japanese culture.
The Origin of Geisha
The job of a geisha started with male dancers instead of female called taikomochi. The
flower districts of Japan are popular entertainment districts where the elites will go to socialize,
meeting important people, and enjoy having many different courtesans. During the 17th century,
the first female dancer came to business, she was called a geiko, originated in Kyoto. Overtime,
the job became more popularized and female geiko eventually dominated the entertainment
world. Prostitutes and geisha were originally grouped together since their jobs are considered

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disgraceful. However, overtime, geisha eventually is recognized to be a real occupation, gaining
their own status, and moving away from the world of prostitution. The common
misunderstanding among Western culture is that geisha are prostitute since they are paid to have
sex and are supported by patrons. It is true that geisha are paid to have sex with clients; however,
they have their own choice of whether or not they want to have a relationship with a patron.
Having a patron means the geisha will be financially support in school, housing, and paying debt
to the okasan.
The Hollywood Image
The misconception of geisha started after World War II, American GIs living in Japan
visited the Ginza district in Tokyo and find for themselves a geesha girl or prostitute. Since the
two words have similar sounds, they mistook cheap prostitute for high class geisha (Narayan).
The cost to be accompanied by a geisha cost between $500 to $1000 per hour. Westerns
perception of geisha is further damaged by the novel Memoirs of a Geisha written by Arthur
Golden, the opera Madame Butterfly by Giacomo Puccini, and Katy Perrys performance at the
American Music Awards, where she dressed as a geisha. Western stereotyping portrayed geisha
as sexualized, prostitute, and gold diggers.
Iki
The training to become a geisha is anything but simple. Girls as young as fifteen years
old start their training in different geisha district under the supervision of a manager or okasan.
Despite the fact that the geisha industry is slowly disappearing, this does not put an end to the
highly intensive selecting process, archaic training process, and strict disciplining (Downer).
Most of the quality to selecting a geisha is no different than selecting a wife; such as, beautiful
looking, discipline, attentive, and alluring.

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The term iki, in Japanese is used to describe the subdue elegance, differ from Westerns
over exploitation of personal image and value. The idea of iki avoids the idea of sexiness and
gorgeous formality. The ideal image is to be cool and chic, since they believe that it is more
effortless instead of being overdramatized. Ideally, Asian women in general are not known for
being sexy, but rather cute and innocent. Iki combines sassiness with innocence, sexiness with
restraint. Geisha, with their giggly coquettishness (Narayan), they represent the best of both
worlds.
Historically, geisha is the iconic figures for fashion and style. They dressed in expensive
kimonos and accessorized with elegant jewelry. They were lovers of the samurai (Japanese
fighters), shogun (military commander) and Kamizaki pilots. Famous geishas are objects of
admiration through poetry and music. Beyond their physical beauty, geisha are admired for their
talents, witt, and dignity. They are famous lovers vowing unfaithful love for their patrons or
lovers. In order to be a patron of a geisha, a man must be wealthy, since he have to support her
schooling and expensive taste. Most geisha will need a patron as their financial support;
however, beside an intimate relationship with their patrons, geisha are allowed to have secret
lovers. Since geisha are arts, in order to attract their attention, the man must be beyond the
extraordinary. Most geisha lovers are known to be poor, they will have to rely on their talents and
intelligent in order to woo the living art. Geisha, despite their long standing of bad reputation, are
strong minded women who see relationships and love as chains (Hua). Most of them will agree
that being loved by a man or to be in love with a man is the worse thing that could happen. They
are not heartless human beings, but they realized that love does not have to be consisted of
physical assertive.
Two Sides of the Same Coin

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However, compared to a housewife, geisha is only second ranked in Japanese culture.
Housewives are first ranked because of their responsibility to raise her children, tend to her
husbands needs, family finance, and daily chores. Japanese men acknowledge the importance of
their wives; however, because of the long standing tradition of male dominance, men often seek
other women for companionships while their wives stay at home. Wives are respectable figures,
they tend to their husbands needs by taking care of the house while the husbands are at work.
Geisha are also respectable figures because they help the men release their daily work stress, in
which a housewife might not be capable of. Wives and geisha were complementary, two sides of
the same coin, two faces of womanhood. As part of her research in Japan, Downer came acrossed
multiple Japanese men who seems to believe that the everyday ordinary women is only capable
of having children; whereas, geisha are capable of beyond the extraordinary of conduct businesslike conversation in a mens world (Downer 71). There is an understanding that Japanese wives
are respectable figures since they are in charged of the household. To an extent, it is over
dramatic to say that a geisha is more or less comparable to a wife. The final conclusion is geisha
live in their own world. A geisha can never be a wife because of their business and social status.
A wife can never be a geisha because they are not trained to be archaic and submissive.
Even back in the day, loyalty and elegance were valued by men rather than just look.
Comparing Japanese standards for an ideal woman is far more realistic from Western standards
of a perfect woman. According to Downer, Japanese men expect their wives to be in good health
in order to bear healthy children, obedient, submissive, physical appearance and intelligent are
on the bottom of the list. She claimed that while Western men expect their wives to be wellrounded, in terms of being the submissive one in public but a whore in bed (Downer 73).
Although the comparison is a bit extreme, Western mens demand put a strain in the image of

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what a real woman should be. Wives and geishas are not perfect because they have different roles
to play. While the wife is the nurturer of the family, the geisha is the boost of excitement that
appease the man, making them sain for their family at home.
Geisha versus Women
Japan, among one of the top leading countries in the world, economically, technologically
and socially. Along with modern advances, Japanese are keen in terms of preserving their
traditional culture. Geisha are also called guardian of tradition because they are trained in
traditional dancing and ceremonies (Hua). Their beauty and behavior are conservative; however,
compared to modern women, geisha are the ideal in terms of post-feminism. The idea of postfeminism came across as a way to seek real equality among men and women. Feminism has
gained a bad reputation due to the idea of women dominating. Powerful women who have the
most influence are called Dragon Lady. Modern feminism advocate rights for women; however,
due to popular culture and social influence, feminism has turned into female being the superior.
Geisha, behind their white face, they are respectable women who understand that in order
to survive in the mens world, they have to be accept their place. They are smart and independent
on their own; however, when they are accompanying their customers, geisha are submissive. The
reason for this is not because they are being deceiving but it is part of their job. Due to their
training and connection, geisha are equipped with knowledge of socializing and intelligent;
however, they chose not to show it because they believe that it is important to be patience with
their clients. Modern women are lacking the necessary mutual accepting of men. Since most of
them are so used to the idea of equality, they are not considerate of their counterparts needs.
Geisha, though they are feminine, they are also also powerful in their own way. By giving
respect for their clients, geisha in turns gained respect and admiration for their consideration.

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Considering all of these factors, geisha are one of the most interesting type of women.
Differ from ordinary women who wants to fall in love and have a family. Most elite geisha prefer
to be independent and not being blinded by love. Due to their job and reputation, it is difficult for
a geisha to maintain a relationship. This is one of the reasons why they have so much authority
over their clients because they are not seeking for love but only companionship. Although they
are paid to accompanied their clients, geisha are thoughtful because they understand that most of
the men are important businessmen facing stress and personal crisis.
Her Story and Legacy
From strong minded fifteen year old girls, the trainees leave behind her ordinary life of
cram school and social norms, such as school, getting married, and having children. They live
away from family for six months to train as a trainee and after six months they pledge as a
maiko. After five years as a maiko, they pledge to be geisha (Hua). Though training are tough in
the beginning, most geisha spend their youth perfecting their performance, on and off stage.
Behind closed doors, they are independent women living for themselves. The geisha community
is not only a community but a family as a whole. They are all connected to each other because
each of them would an older sister and a younger sister. Living away from modern standard,
geisha wears kimono, wooden shoes, and embrace mannerism. Geisha are mocked for being
traditional; however, they are more capable and stable than most modern women. The reason for
this is that they know to respect, listen and conduct themselves properly in a passive kind of way.

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Work Cited
Downer, Lesley. Women of the Pleasure Quarters: The Secret History of the Geisha. New York:
Broadway, 2001. Print.
Hua, Julietta. "Gucci Geishas" And Post-Feminism." Women's Studies In Communication 32.1 (2009): 6388. Academic Search Premier. Web. 21 Mar. 2015.

Narayan, Shoba. "My Life as a Geisha." Conde Nast Traveler. CNTraveler, Aug.-Sept. 2009.
Web. 23 Mar. 2015.
Wikipedia contributors. "Traditional Japanese music." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The
Free Encyclopedia, 23 Jan. 2015. Web. 23 Mar. 2015.