There is no such thing as an average day in her life. She grows, becomes a geisha and it obliges her to learn customs and social skills, to learn traditional dancing and playing an instrument. She can’t be called just a girl, a teen or a woman. Since the moment she becomes a geisha, she’s called a “performing artist”. Her life differs from ordinary woman’s one.
Have you ever thought what kind of life does a geisha have? What difficulties she faces on her life course? It may seem that geisha’s life isn’t exciting and unpredictable, because everything she needs is to dance, entertain, play an instrument and remain beautiful. In actuality, her life isn’t as simple as someone may think.
Japan was the country where geishas appeared. To become a geisha wasn’t very difficult, usually girls were a geisha’s daughter or they were just sold to a geisha house by their beggar parents in order to make their life better and to provide them with shelter. To become a geisha is a long and very hardworking process. Girls get to okiya house, where geisha trainees and young geisha live and prepare for their future work. A girl won’t be appreciated and paid attention, if she doesn’t listen to her geisha sister. If your honorable sister tells you to cut your leg, you cut your leg (Memoirs of a Geisha). Actually, if a girl wants to become a geisha she must be interviewed by okami. If she likes her, a girl will be accepted to okami’s house, where she’ll start her training course, but one of the rules says that the future geisha can’t quit for six years. From the first days, girls begin doing household chores and dance and music lessons start. They are taught how to entertain, to be gorgeous and unique, how to represent themselves to the society.
After six months girl becomes a young geisha called maiko. They have this status until twenty years old. Since that time, a geisha can be presented to the society. She can perform, strengthen herself and show if she is a preeminent geisha while dancing, singing or entertaining at teahouses. Also, during this period of time geisha has a chance to choose her future patron. In fact, maiko’s virginity must be sold to a bidder, who will become her patron later.
On the other hand, being a geisha isn’t just to entertain. One of her peculiarities is to be distinguished with the help of her appearance. It changes throughout her career, from maiko’s one to the appearance of an older geisha. People used to think that geishas’ faces are always white painted. In fact, it’s just a conjecture, because this right belongs to geishas who have reached the name maiko. Their traditional make-up consists of white base on her face, red lipstick and usually black or red eyeshades. Their make-up takes a lot of time, because they are always compared with flowers. Usually, this procedure begins before dressing in order not to spoil geisha’s kimono.
Of course, not every geisha is able to wear a beautiful kimono. After becoming maiko, geisha wears a colorful kimono with long sleeves and high-heeled wooden shoes. Also, they’re supposed to wear obi, a wide belt, which is distinguished for the real geisha. In actuality, geisha isn’t permitted to be seen in the same kimono more than once while entertaining. It’s also a kind of expensive clothes, so very often geishas are given with kimonos by their patrons. Also their hairstyles are different. They vary from high hairstyles, which are peculiar to young geishas, to a style which resembles a divided peach, which is worn only by maiko.
She paints her face to hide her face. Her eyes are deep water. It is not for Geisha to want. It is not for geisha to feel. Geisha is an artist of the floating world. She dances, she sings. She entertains you, whatever you want. The rest is shadows, the rest is secret (Sayuri Nitta). On the one hand, it’s not simple to be a geisha. You must be unique, gorgeous, you can’t make a mistake while speaking. You can’t think, because you have to smile and be charming. On the other hand, just imagine how womanly geishas are. They don’t obey the time, they have their own world – the world of art. From early years they learn how to be preeminent. They possess dancing skills, they sing, they have amazing skills in socializing, their manners are perfect.
Really, Japan is the only country where geishas exist. Nowadays, these beautiful women still entertain at teahouses, but people’s Occidentalism has been changing and this culture can’t avoid changes. Some people think that a word geisha means a prostitute, but it’s a rumour. This perception came from the Word War II, when American soldiers couldn’t understand the meaning of this word. Since that time, in America and some other countries there’s a huge amount of geishas whose mission is to satisfy someone’s desire.