9 misconceptions about geisha everyone believes in movies

1. Geisha were prostitutes

Contrary to popular belief, geisha were not prostitutes or courtesans. The very word geisha literally means "man of art." These women were engaged in entertaining guests at o-dzashiki banquets with noble gentlemen, where they served as musicians, dancers and comedians, poured drinks and conducted small talk.

In addition, geisha helped arrange various salon games like tosenkyo (throwing a fan at a target) or the Japanese counterparts "rock, scissors, paper" and watered the losers' sake. They provided musical accompaniment to the banquet, playing the shamisen (a kind of Japanese balalaika), ko-tsuzumi (a Japanese drum held over the shoulder), and fue (flute). And if the guests wanted to compete in the addition of haiku, drawing or dancing, geisha also participated in it.

It is more correct to compare a geisha with a presenter, singer, dancer, animator and hostess (and all this in one bottle) than with a prostitute.

If a geisha wanted to provide sexual services, she would put herself at risk, since the law forbade her to engage in prostitution and even show herself next to yujo - this is how real moths were called in Japan. Of course, it is unlikely that this prohibition has never been violated, but nevertheless it took place.

Perhaps the myth that yujo and geisha are one and the same originated from the American military after World War II. Many prostitutes then pretended to be geisha in order to earn more money, although they did not have the right to do so. The Americans, on the other hand, did not really understand who was who, and therefore began to confuse these concepts.

2. Geisha is an exclusively female profession

Geisha is not exclusively a female profession

When we say "geisha", we necessarily mean a Japanese woman with a strange hairstyle and a face covered with white powder. The thing is, it doesn't have to be a woman.

The first geisha were men - they were called taikomochi, which is translated from Japanese as "drum bearer", or hokan - "jester". They were comedians, musicians, actors and tea ceremony connoisseurs. They told jokes and amused guests in noble houses. Or, with indecent anecdotes, they invited visitors to taverns and brothels.

And no, male "geisha" should not be called "gay": they are completely different words. "Geisha" comes from the Japanese geisha, "man of art", "gay" - from the English gay, "merry fellow", "mischievous".

This profession originated already in the XII century, and then the khokans were called dobosu - "comrade", since they not only entertained the owners, but also were their advisers, interlocutors and companions with whom it was not boring to spend time. Later, with the end of the Sengoku period in the early 17th century, female jesters began to appear. The first of them was called Kasen - she was a prostitute, but was able to pay off the debt under the contract and, having gained freedom, became the first geisha.

Now there are about five taikomochi left in the world. They organize holidays, competitions and work as presenters. You can even watch their YouTube performances. Maybe it will amuse those who know Japanese.

In addition, male geisha can be called husuto - these are Japanese boys who, for a fee, can take you on a date, say compliments and have a drink with you.

3. Geisha always wear makeup

Geisha are always portrayed as wearing the traditional o-sira makeup (which means "white" in Japanese), which is based on wax. The lips were stained with red safflower lipstick - beni.

However, contrary to belief, geisha did not always wear makeup. Basically, the face was whitewashed by maiko, geisha students, and novice geisha, and experienced ladies made up only for especially important ceremonies. From a certain age, makeup was not worn at all, since it was believed that the beauty of an adult woman did not need to be emphasized with makeup.

The situation was the same with the hair: inexperienced maikos made complex hairstyles with an abundance of jewelry. And the trained women wore a simpler hairstyle, shimada. Aged geisha generally simply gathered their hair into a "shell".

4. All geisha were handsome and young

From the point of view of the Japanese in ancient times, geisha really were the decoration of any holiday. But their ideas about beauty were somewhat different from ours.

In ancient times, geisha, due to the costs of their profession, suffered from skin problems. Because their makeup contained white lead, women often earned lead poisoning until the 20th century. The makeup they used was also very specific: for example, uguisu-no-fun, a cosmetic product, was made from the excrement of a warbler (this is such a bird).

The word "uguisu-no-fun" is translated as "nightingale droppings." And in Japan it was considered prestigious and fashionable to smear the face with such a thing, supposedly giving the skin smoothness and whiteness. True, modern researchers doubt that the urea and guanine contained in bird excrement are good for the skin, but due to the high pH, uguisu-no-fun was also used to bleach sheets.

Due to the strong tension in the hairstyles, the hair of the geisha began to fall out over time, but they even managed to be proud of their receding hairline.

They were considered a sign that a geisha had been sufficiently trained as a student, and therefore, impeccably trained. Places with hair that had fallen out were covered with wigs.

With age, geisha often gave up such bullying of themselves and began to adhere to a more natural appearance. Many of them continued to work until old age. Moreover, mature ladies in the role of geisha were more appreciated by the Japanese: it was believed that only with age, a woman's beauty is fully revealed.

The oldest known geisha, Yuko Asakusa, lived to be 96 years old. She was born in 1923 and began her profession at the age of 16, and she continued to do so until her death in 2019.

So, if you invited a geisha, it is not a fact that you will be visited by a young beauty singing in a clear voice. Perhaps it will be an aged lady, masterly pouring tea and telling stories.

5. A geisha smile is enough to charm a man

A geisha smile isn't enough to charm a man

Another moment that adds spice to the image of a geisha is her smile. However, she was not at all as captivating as we think.

Geisha followed the Japanese custom of blackening their teeth - ohaguro. As a dye, juices of various herbs and fruits were used, as well as liquid from galls - parasitic formations on plant leaves caused by viruses, bacteria, fungi and arthropods. This is not a very pleasant procedure.

To prepare ohaguro, the dye was mixed with water and sake in a special container, and then red-hot rusty iron rods were placed there. All this stuff was kept for a week and then poured into the mouth. Yes, the Japanese are weird.

You probably won't want to kiss a geisha because ohaguro teeth smell bad. In 1870, it was forbidden to make ohaguro to all nobles, including members of the imperial family. Apparently, even the emperor is annoyed by the smell from the mouth.

But prostitutes-yujo rarely blackened their teeth. Therefore, ohaguro was associated with the decency of married women, in whom the fastness of the paint on the teeth symbolized loyalty to her husband.

6. Geisha were dressed to smithereens

Usually in films, geisha are presented as ladies not only with unnatural makeup, but also extremely brightly and effectively dressed. But this is not at all the case. Yujo (prostitutes) and oiran (more expensive prostitutes) dressed colorfully.

Among geisha, only female students and novice geisha wore brightly decorated kimonos. More experienced women dressed more simply and modestly. Compare, for example, the clothes and hairstyles of the geisha and the oiran in the image above: the former has a plain kimono and simple hairstyle, while the latter has a colorful outfit and hair covered with jewelry.

In addition, oiran and yujo, for obvious reasons, tied the belts of their kimonos so that they could easily be untied. Geisha was dressed by a special cloakroom attendant, otokosi, and they could not remove the belt without assistance.

7. All geisha are Japanese

When Japan was an isolated and closed state, where there was no way for the gaijin, it was so. But since the 1970s, representatives of other countries have also appeared among geishas. Naturally, they took Japanese pseudonyms for themselves, as it should be in this profession.

Among the geisha were citizens of the United States, China, Romania, Ukraine, Peru and Australia. They were trained in special okiya houses, and therefore had every right to be called geisha.

8. Geisha were sold into slavery

Due to the film Memoirs of a Geisha, based on the novel of the same name, many believe that little girls were literally sold into slavery by their impoverished parents. But this is also not entirely true.

Many new girls went to the houses of geisha (the so-called okiya) quite voluntarily in order to earn extra money and get an education and profession. Other maiko apprentices were the daughters of adult geisha, and they inherited their craft. Although it often happened that poor girls became geisha, who had no other way to pay off their debts (this is clearly better than being a yujo).

By the way, Mineko Iwasaki, who became the prototype of the heroine of "Memoirs of a Geisha," was outraged by the way the geisha were portrayed there. She sued the author of the novel, Arthur Golden, and then wrote her book, The True Memoirs of a Geisha.

Now girls who have reached 15 years of age become geisha at will. And before that, they must definitely get a school certificate.

9. Geisha are no more

If you think that geisha have long since sunk into history, then you are greatly mistaken: they exist in Japan to this day! They host tea ceremonies and serve in traditional Japanese restaurants, as well as work as musicians, comedians and toastmasters.

True, real geisha are rare today, and their number is declining. So if you find yourself in Japan, then you most likely have to take a selfie with a painted animator girl who has no idea about ancient oriental art.