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Japanese Geisha
by Shane Yen
 Japanese
Geisha have their roots in female entertainers such as the Saburuko of
the 7th century. Japanese Geishas performs for the nobility and concubines
to the emperor. The first walled-in pleasure quarters were built in Japan
in the 16th century. In the Japanese culture, they were modeled after those
of Ming Dynasty China. After they were relocated in the mid-1600s, they
became known as Shimabara (after a fortress in Kyushu).
Meanwhile a marshy patch
of land (Yoshi-wara) in Edo had been designated as the site for a brothel
district under the auspices of the Tokugawa shogunate. Strict rules such
as brothels and the like were not allowed to operate outside the district.
Among these rules were that no customers were allowed to stay in a brothel
for more than 24 hours. Any suspicious or unknown visitors were to be reported
to the Office of the City Governor.
 With
Japan enjoying a long-awaited period of peace following centuries of civil
war, many samurai found that society no longer had such need of their services.
It's thought that many daughters of these formerly noble families became
courtesans, with the result that quarters such as Yoshiwara and Shimabara
were places of refinement and culture. Peace also brought an increase in
prosperity and the rise of the merchant class, or chonin. Add that to the
presence of artists and an atmosphere free of the strictures of the outside
world, and it truly was something of an adult amusement park, with culture
thrown in for good measure.
 Within
the hanamichi there were many different classes of courtesans, and over
the decades the hierarchy and the standards expected of them changed many
times, not always for the better. The situation deteriorated in the mid-18th
century to the extent that a new form of entertainer emerged in Kyoto and
Osaka. The earliest geiko were men, while the first females, who appeared
shortly after, were odoriko (dancers) or played the shamisen. Female geisha
soon became popular enough to be able to steal clients from the courtesans,
and in the case of Yoshiwara it was decided to start a kenban, or registration
system, to keep them under control and force them to pay taxes.
t strictly controlled their
dress, behavior and movements and was considered so successful that it
quickly became the norm at hanamichi across Japan. These strict rules in
fact allowed the geisha to flourish as artists and entertainers. Though
more simply dressed than the courtesans, they became regarded as fashion
leaders. But many aspects of the lifestyle itself were less glamorous.
Young girls were sold into the geisha life by their families until the
mid-20th century and were often subject to the ritual of 'mizu-age,' whereby
their virginity was sold to the highest bidder. Such practices were eradicated
after World War II and the geisha profession went into a steady decline.
Today, if Japanese geisha
are hired to entertain at a private party outside the upper echelons of
society, they are most likely to be seasoned veterans, more akin to your
favorite aunt or even grandmother than the girl next door.
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About the Author: Shane is
an expert in Japanese Culture. He has lived in Japan for 10 years and considers
his second home. Visit Japanese
Culture for more articles.
Travel
Articles / Asia
/ Japan
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