8/12/2019 THE FIRST GEISHA OF JAPAN

1/2

THE FIRST GEISHA OF JAPAN

By MASHA VAN DER HEIJDE

The images that spring to mind when I

think about geisha? Exotic women,

bright kimonos, mystery, male geisha...

Wait, you might think, Male geisha?

Fact is men were the first geisha of

Japan. In a small Japanese coffee

shop I meet Taikomochi Arai, one of

the last male geisha. He is a charming

man who puts all his efforts in

preserving this dying tradition. For

there are only five practitioners left in

Japan.

Meeting Taikomochi Arai it is hard not

to notice his brightness and humor. A

broad smile never departs his face.

Somehow meeting a man who is

preserving an ancient tradition on the

verge of becoming extinct I had

expected to meet a somber person. I

am pleasantly surprised with this brisk

modern guy. Everything about him

makes it clear he is living his dream,

which makes it a refreshing treat to

meet him.

Taikomochi Arais smile becomes a

loud laugh when he remembers how it

all started. In junior high school his

uncle took him to his first traditional

geisha party in Kyotos Gion

entertainment district. This opened a

magical world for him. A mysterious

world filled with all the things he loved

most; history, antiques, money and

beautiful women, and it is no surprise

he fell in love with this different way of

life. But as the son of a barber he was

also well aware that he could not afford

much time here. Therefore he decided

to become a male geisha, though it

wasn't until he was in his 40s that he

was able to make a full living in his

chosen profession.

So who are these mysterious male

geisha? Mr. Arai takes a deep breath.

You know, he says, the first geisha

were men. Sadly this fact is not known

by many people. Even a lot of

Japanese have forgotten about the

male part of this tradition. Similar to

the jongleurs, minstrels and jesters in

13th century Europe, Japan had

attendants to feudal lords who advised

and entertained their lord. By the

1500s their skills focused on their

storytelling, humor and conversations

and they became known as storytellers.

But humor was not a virtue on its own.

Often it was used to give advice on

military strategies, and these men even

battled next to their lord.

When in the 1600s peace came over

Japan, the military advice of these

storytellers was no longer needed.

Therefore they became pure

entertainers and looking for other

occupations some started to work in

the pleasure quarters. Here they

became known as Art Persons, in

Japanese gei-sha.

8/12/2019 THE FIRST GEISHA OF JAPAN

2/2

Together with top-end courtesans male

geisha entertained wealthy patrons

with their arts and stories and it didnt

take long for them to become

extremely popular. In 1751 the first

woman started to call herself gei-sha

and began a new rave of popularity.

Eventually geisha took over from the

courtesans with their artistic skills,

contemporary outlook and

sophistication. By the end of the 1700s

female geisha outnumbered the males,

though male geisha continued to assist

the females in the field of

entertainment.

During the peak of their popularity

there were five or six hundred male

geisha in Japan, but since the 1920s

the amount of both female and male

geisha started to decline. Whereas

there are still small communities of

female geisha in Kyoto and Tokyo,

there are only five male geisha left.

Four in Tokyo and one in the Kyoto

area. Fact is that nowadays few people

can afford to be entertained in the

expensive way of the geisha world and

the tradition of the male geisha is on

the verge of extinction.

Because of this Taikomochi Arai sees it

as his mission to let people know abouthis profession. Attending traditional

parties with geisha and maiko, he also

performs at untraditional parties like

weddings, feasts and home parties

organized by women. These give me

the opportunity to teach about the

history and culture of geisha parties

and to give a glimpse of what the

floating world is like. Next to that, he

gives lectures at the Asahi Culture

Centers in Osaka and Kobe, published

two books, hosts a weekly radio

program about Japans traditional

entertainment culture, writes

newspaper columns for Asahi Shimbun

and Chui Nichi and gave advice for the

male geisha character in the movie

Nagasaki Burabura Bushi.

For more information see the website

of the male geisha Taikomochi Arai:

http://www.mitene.or.jp/~houkan/2002/

e00.html. Though his English doesnt

go much further then I am a very

handsome boy, westerners are most

welcome to his performances and may

still understand jokes through his

gestures. Enquiries for parties should

be sent in Japanese to Taikomochi

Arais personal email address:

houkan@mitene.or.jp.