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Geisha (芸者) (/ ˈ ɡ eɪ ʃ ə /; Japanese:), [1] [2] also known as geiko (芸子) (in Kyoto and Kanazawa) or geigi (芸妓), are female Japanese performing artists and entertainers trained in traditional Japanese performing arts styles, such as dance, music and singing, as well as being proficient conversationalists and hosts.
The apprenticeship ranges from a few months to a year or two years, although apprentices too old to dress as maiko may advance to geisha despite still training. Apprentice geisha in other locations in Japan are known by other terms, such as hangyoku (半玉, lit. ' half jewel ', referring to a term for a geisha's wages, 'jewel money') for ...
Tayū (太夫) were the highest rank of female entertainers in early modern Japanese licensed quarters. Tayū were distinguished historically from other courtesans (yūjo; women of pleasure) and entertainers (Maiko, Geisha/Geiko) by their intensive training in numerous traditional artforms from a young age. The prestige this education conferred ...
An okiya (置屋) is the lodging house/drinking establishment to which a maiko or geisha is affiliated with during her career as a geisha. The okiya is typically run by the "mother" (okā-san) of the house, who handles a geisha's engagements, the development of her skills, and funds her training through a particular teahouse.
Maiko (geisha in training) wear distinctive tall geta called okobo, which are similar to the chopines worn in Venice during the Renaissance. Very young girls also wear okobo (also called pokkuri and koppori) that have a small bell inside a cavity in the thick sole. These geta have no teeth, but are formed of one piece of wood.
Mineko Iwasaki, former high-ranking Gion geisha, detailed her experience of mizuage in her autobiography, Geisha, a Life.Describing her experience of graduation to geishahood with the term mizuage, Iwasaki described her experience as a round of formal visits to announce her graduation, including the presentation of gifts to related geisha houses and important patrons, and a cycle through five ...
Memoirs of a Geisha is a 2005 American epic period drama film directed by Rob Marshall and adapted by Robin Swicord from the 1997 novel of the same name by Arthur Golden. [2] [3] It tells the story of a young Japanese girl, Chiyo Sakamoto, who is sold by her impoverished family to a geisha house to support them by training as and eventually becoming a geisha under the pseudonym "Sayuri Nitta."
Onna-musha (女武者) is a term referring to female warriors in pre-modern Japan, [1] [2] who were members of the bushi class. They were trained in the use of weapons to protect their household, family, and honour in times of war; [ 3 ] [ 4 ] many of them fought in battle alongside samurai men.