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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.
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.
Though the term ochaya literally means "tea house", the term follows the naming conventions of buildings or rooms used for Japanese tea ceremony, known as chashitsu (茶室, lit. "tea room"); as such, though tea is served at ochaya as an ordinary beverage, it is not, unlike teahouses and tearooms found throughout the world, its sole purpose.
In 1929, at age of 16, she became a geisha at a geisha house in Shinbashi. She learned English, and gained a reputation as the first English-speaking geisha. [3] Some of her clients included Babe Ruth, Jean Cocteau, and Charlie Chaplin. [3] Nakamura was also the first woman in Japan to get a pilot's license. [2]
Geiko and maiko have existed in Ponto-chō since at least the 16th century, as have prostitution and other forms of entertainment. Today, the area, lit by traditional lanterns at night, contains a mix of exclusive restaurants — often featuring outdoor riverside dining on wooden patios — geisha houses and tea houses, brothels, bars, and cheap eateries.
After the publication of Memoirs of a Geisha, Iwasaki decided to write an autobiography in contrast with Golden's novel. [8] Her book, co-authored by Rande Gail Brown, was published as Geisha: A Life in the US and Geisha of Gion in the UK. The book detailed her experiences before, during and after her time as a geisha, and became a bestseller. [9]
Sukiyabashi Jiro – a sushi restaurant in Ginza, Chūō, Tokyo, Japan, it is owned and operated by sushi master Jiro Ono. [4] The Michelin Guide has awarded it 3 stars. [ 5 ] A two-star branch operated by his son Takashi is located at Roppongi Hills in Minato, Tokyo .
A summer tradition around the time of the Gion Festival among the hanamachi of Kyoto is to distribute personalized uchiwa (団扇, flat fans) to favored patrons and stores that both maiko and geisha frequent. These feature a crest of the geisha house on the front, and the geisha's name on the back (house name, then personal name).