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By 1975, the average age of a geisha in the Ponto-ch ... Before the 20th century, geisha began their training at a young age, around the age of six.
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 ...
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 ...
Iwasaki became a maiko (apprentice geisha) at the age of 15, and was chosen as the house's atotori, or heir. Iwasaki also received the name "Mineko", as prescribed by a Japanese fortune-teller. By age 16, she had earned a reputation as Japan's most popular maiko and graduated to geisha status on her 21st birthday.
The training program starts from a young age, typically 15 years old, and can take anywhere from six months to three years. [130] A young geisha in training, under the age of 20, is called a maiko. Maiko (literally "dance girl") are apprentice geisha, and this stage can last for years.
There were no fees but students would be expected to perform at the Imperial Theater as part of their practical training. Anyone who left without completing the two years would be charged for the tuition they had received. If they then took up acting or used their training to practice as geisha, they would be fined." [1]: 228–229
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 on them allowed them to refuse clients.
Memoirs of a Geisha is a historical fiction novel by American author Arthur Golden, published in 1997. The novel, told in first person perspective , tells the story of Nitta Sayuri and the many trials she faces on the path to becoming and working as a geisha in Kyoto , Japan , before, during and after World War II .