[English] The Secret Lives of Geisha

Comments · 1.2K

• SU

  @suzannesadiiqa · 8 years ago

  The real Geisha that still survive should be supported by the government as National Treasures.

  287

• 丅-

  @丅-y4x · 7 years ago (edited)

  The first female geisha didn’t come around until 1751, and when she started working, the idea that a woman could be a geisha was treated like a weird, novel thought. She was advertised as the “female geisha” because, up until then, every single geisha had been a man. Male geisha had already been around for hundreds of years. Technically, they didn’t call them geisha until the 1600s, but the idea had been around for more than 500 years. Since the 13th century, there had been men who did exactly what the geisha did: entertained male lords by serving them tea, performing songs, telling them jokes, and making them feel like the most important person in the room. By the 1600s, those men started calling themselves geisha and working in the brothels of high-class courtesans. They’d entertain the guests and keep them happy while they waited for their turn. It took until the 1800s for the female geisha fad to catch on. Until then, female geisha were still a rarity, even after the first one broke the mold. Even today, most Japanese people are called female geisha by the feminine word geiko—because, technically, a geisha is supposed to be a man.

  53

• MA

  @maureenseel118 · 6 years ago

  I find it amusing that the US troops thought they were sleeping with Geisha for the price of 20 yen. LOL...

  53

• SA

  @Satopi3104 · 9 years ago (edited)

  as a japanese i appreciate so many people coming to the defense of the honor of the geisha by saying they are not prostitutes, because I think the word prostitute has a very specific association (revealing clothes, standing around on street corners, little education). &nbsp;And it is true that in the modern day, sex is NOT a part of the geisha world (unless of course they want to have such relations, they are not prohibited from doing so). &nbsp;But as recently as right after WWII (until the anti-prostitution law was passed in the 1950s) , sex was part of their professional lives. &nbsp;So those who believe geisha engage in selling their bodies do not do so without any basis. <br><br>I personally haven&apos;t read memoirs of the geisha so can&apos;t attest to the accuracy of the book, but so far into the documentary (about half way through at the point of the documentary) I don&apos;t think the author has said anything inaccurate. <br><br>I do want to clarify that when you wear a kimono, while you might not wear western underwear or bras, you do wear undergarments - you don&apos;t just put the kimono onto your bare skin. &nbsp;Also the pronunciation of the Japanese terms by the narrator are so bad that they are barely comprehensible so please don&apos;t take any tips from her lol.<br><br>Edit: watching more of this, its not grossly wrong but not super accurate. Like lots of seemingly innocuous mistakes that add up to it being not really accurate.

  183

• YO

  @yourmailishere · 10 years ago

  I don&apos;t understand. Everyone is complaining about how this documentary says Geisha are prostitutes. All I learned from this documentary is that Geisha are NOT prostitutes :/ did we watch the same thing?

  822

• IG

  @IG-mv4we · 7 years ago

  Geisha is a companion, person to serve and entertainment(is hard work 😓)God Blessings those Princess Girls

  16

• EM

  @emilyrandall867 · 8 years ago

  If you want accurate descriptions on the life of a maiko/geiko then read Mineko Iwasaki&apos;s book the Geisha of Gion. She was the most popular geiko of the 1970s. Geisha sell their skills not their bodies. Courtesans are the prostitutes of this world whereas Geisha are art forms, trained in dance, singing, etiquette and entertainment from the age of 5. There is nothing sexual about the life of a geiko. If they should choose to marry then they leave the profession to become a wife. Every day of their lives is taken up by lessons, appointments, and clients. A geishas main objective is to entertain customers with dancing, singing, the playing of the shamisen and the art of conversation. Geisha are not prostitutes they do not sell their bodies. They sell their skills. Mineko Iwasaki Geisha of Gion is the autobiography of a real life Geiko and her day to day life as it is and was. End of story. Not prostitutes

  174

• OS

  @Oshidorinohina · 4 years ago (edited)

  arthur golden suggests that the ofuku hairstyle is meant to be a vagina, that is incorrect. Ofuku does not mean split peach, he&apos;s confusing it with Momoware which is not worn by maiko or geisha. <br>Ofuku is meant to represent a boat of fortune holding wealth and the cloth can be many colors. I&apos;ve seen it in green, pink, orange, blue, shibori mixed dyes, and pastel blue. Hangyoku of Asakusa wear momoware but the meaning is not sexual, it&apos;s considered cute and meant for children (even though it&apos;s worn by 20 year old women). Every nihongami has a name and meaning and most have been lost to time. not everything is sex related, mr golden.<br><br>Also: This is not true about the towns people trying to send her back if she tried to escape. That&apos;s something done in the defunct yukaku (red light districts during edo &amp; taisho era), it had gates which were guarded by armed men- to stop the courtesans from leaving (they were bound by contract and it could only be completed if she died or was bought out) and clients from running without paying. There were no gates in geisha districts (hanamachi) so they could easily come and go as they pleased but were often kept so busy in their training classes and evening banquets they didn&apos;t have time to leave. in the past maiko often didn&apos;t leave because they had been living there since childhood and it was all they knew or they were born into it. <br><br>Golden seems to constantly confuse courtesans with geisha.

  14

• UN

  @underthesign1 · 10 years ago

  Arthur Golden has done more to damage the reputation of geisha than anyone else. Geisha are not prostitutes but artistes (which is what the word geisha means) who carry on the traditions of classical Japanese music and dance. Although they often become mistresses or wives of wealthy patrons, they do not sell themselves for sex. As for American servicemen, the women they dated were bar hostesses, not geisha. They wouldn&apos;t have been able to afford to meet geisha, as that requires an expense account.

  21

• BR

  @brocktoon8 · 3 years ago

  The one who turned on her patron for mistreating her is a hero. Good for her. To hell with keeping secrets when it is abuse.

  4

• RA

  @Raven135 · 9 years ago

  Susan Sarandon has such a soothing voice...

  50

• TH

  @thyblackwidow · 9 years ago

  I think the Geisha are just beautiful, And Very. Very Respectful. I so admire them and hope this wonderful tradition continues on.

  36