The Tales of a Geisha: Pre and Post

ImperialismBy: Jacquelyn JacksonMarch 29, 2012English 106 (WISE)Prof. PetersonHistory Presentation

Then and Now: The History of a Geisha

Geisha means arts person, so in Japan the Geisha’s are looked at as artisans. They sell their skills and talents, not their bodies. Throughout their life they are trained in preparation to entertain. Geisha’s were highly favored and praised throughout their society until after the intrusion of the American’s. Giving insight to what happened after World War II, where their whole society and everything they ever knew was destroyed; the traditions and customs once held dearly were all taken away. The most beautiful and known geisha was now just another common worker. The conventions of Geisha’s were lost and weren’t thought to reappear until later years where now the meaning of Geisha is misinterpreted.

IN WHAT WAYS DID IMPERIALISM EFFECT GEISHA’S?

Imperialism displaced Geisha’s causing them to lose most of their customs, traditions and

identity.

PRE IMPERIALISM• Geisha women started around

710-94 • Does not get noticed officially

until around the 1750s• Naomi Graham-Diaz, author to

web source History of the Geisha: Part 1, informs that by “1750-1751 [we see] the beginnings of the new class emerge from Kyoto and Osaka—the so-called “geiko”. Geiko originally were men . . . These men had been around entertaining in various ways since the Kwambun era (1661-1672), but had been solely male until the first female geisha, Kikuya from Fukagawa, appeared” (Immortal Geisha).

• Geisha means arts person or artisan so the geishas did not as much sell their bodies, but they sold their entertainment and their presence

• To become a full Geisha takes about 6 years for a young girl who usually starts around 15 – 16, but some may start younger

• Kyoto and Tokyo were the main locations of Geisha’s

• Girls would be sold into okiya’s as servants

• Servant – Shikomi – Minarai – Maiko – Geisha

DURING WWii • “Once WWII began, the

geisha districts were shut down. Many geisha were sent to work in factories, and had to transform their once beautiful kimono into coveralls” (CW-chan).

• Hiroshima, the largest island of Japan was bombed at 8:15am, August 6, 1945 by US Army Air Force (bomb name “Little Boy”)

• Districts were reopened after the war

POST IMPERIALISM• The population of Geisha’s

have rapidly decreased after WWII

• American men, particularly military men, began to become more infatuated with Geisha’s and during their time in Japan would come in contact with Geisha impersonators

• Non-legit Geisha: Geisha Girls or Geesha (wore their sash in the front for easier access)

• “Geisha girls are glorified prostitutes. In all honesty, the only reason they are glorified prostitutes is because they mimic the dress and appearance of a legitimate geisha” (Admin).

MY REASO

NI CHOSE TO DO MY HISTORY REASEARCH PAPER ON GEISHA’S BECAUSE AS A CHILD I HAVE ALWAYS ADMIRED THE JAPANESE CULTURE. WHEN I FIRST LEARNED OF GEISHA’S I INTERPRETED THEM AS HIGH END PROSTITUTES, BUT ONCE I LOOKED MORE INTO THEIR WORK I GROWN A GREATER APPRECITION FOR THEIR ARTISTRY.

I Have Learned:

1. Geisha’s are not courtesans or prostitutes

2. Geisha’s are skilled artist3. They entertain through art

(i.e. music, dance, poetry and singing)

4. A Geisha is not the same thing as a “Geisha Girl”

5. The Geisha culture and population is rapidly disappearing

6. The Geisha came from previous example of men who dressed as courtesans

SO W

HY SH

OU

LD

YOU

CARE?

1. “The Geisha and her world continue to fascinate people around the world as part of their image of a mysterious and timeless Japan” (Japan Zone).

2. Shows the destruction and wrong our nation has caused to others

3. So people can get a better understanding of what a true Geisha is and to take more value into their work

WORKS CITED• Admin. “The Difference Between Traditional Geisha’s and Geisha Girls.”

News 2 Life in Japan. 30 January 2011. Web. Accessed 24 March 2012 <http://www.news2life.com/culture/the-difference-between-

traditional-geisha%E2%80%99s-and-geisha-girls/>.• Chan, CW. “The Geisha-The Japanese Tradition.” Angel Fire. 2001. Web.

26 March 2012 <http://www.angelfire.com/mac/dreamer/geisha/essay.html>.• Graham-Diaz, Naomi. “History of the Geisha, Part One: 1100AD-1750AD.”

Immortal Geisha. October 2001. Web 27 March 2012 <http://www.immortalgeisha.com/history_01.php/>.

• “Geisha.” Japan Zone. n.d. Web. 24 March 2012 <http://www.japan-zone.com/culture/geisha.shtml>.

• Knight, Eliza. “The History and Culture of Japanese Geisha.” History Undressed. n.p.Web. 27 March 2012.

• Memoirs of a Geisha. Dir. Rob Marshall. Universal City: Spyglass Entertainment, Amblin Entertainment, and Red Wagon Entertainment, 2005. DVD

• Seigle, Cecilia Segawa, Utamaro Kitagawa, Yoshitoshi Taiso, and Kunichika Toyohara. A Courtesan’s Day: Hour by Hour. Amsterdam: Hotei, 2004. Print.

MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA

http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi2073624857

/