Who is a geisha. Modern Geisha: Amazing Japanese "Artists" Who Can Do All Geishas Now

Mysterious and attractive, always well-groomed and beautifully dressed, in silk kimonos and with amazing hairstyles - Japanese geishas never cease to be admired by the Western world. With whom only their profession is not compared: with a toastmaster, with girls from escort services, and sometimes simply with lung women behavior.

TodayAmateur. mediawill understand the history of this amazing tradition and try to find out who the geisha really are.

When did geishas appear?

The history of geishas goes back to the 17th century, when the first representatives of this profession appeared in the cities of Kyoto, Osaka and Tokyo. No, no, there is no typo here, namely representatives: initially, surprisingly, men acted as geishas. Most often, these were artists of the traditional Japanese Kabuki theater, who dressed up as jesters and entertained prostitutes at feasts.

Initially, men acted as geishas.

This is probably why the word "geisha", consisting of two characters in Japanese, literally translates as "man of art." It is obvious that geishas have a close connection with representatives of the most ancient profession, but initially it is still not the same thing.

Kabuki theater. Traditionally, all roles are played by men.

The first female geisha is Kasen of Yoshiwara. In 1761, she broke with her work as a prostitute, paid off her debts, and officially became a geisha. At the same time, the division of geishas into those who only entertained guests with their talents, the so-called "white geishas", and those who slept with clients, they were called "tipping geishas", appeared. A little later, the law forbade geisha to engage in prostitution, but many still continued to earn money in this way.

The first female geisha is Kasen of Yoshiwara.

GeishaVScourtesans

Errors in the perception of the image of geishas arise in the Western mind due to popular, but generally factually inaccurate books, such as Memoirs of a Geisha. In general, the "relationship" between geishas and prostitutes is quite complicated. It is believed that a geisha should only entertain guests - hold banquets and holidays, meet guests in tea houses, entertaining them with conversation, playing musical instruments and dancing, and conduct tea ceremonies.

A modern geisha can be ordered to accompany a banquet

A modern geisha can be ordered to accompany a banquet or theater, but ordinary geisha do not provide additional services. This is sometimes done by "onsen-geisha" - girls who lack skill. In the famous novel by Yasunari Kawabata "Snow Country" such a geisha is described. In addition, the official geisha may have a "danna". This is a kind of patron of a woman, often a lover, from whom a geisha has children. Danna pays for the outfits of the geisha, helps her look for influential clients. Sometimes a danna can be just a patron of the arts, that is love relationship there is nothing between him and a geisha.

Geisha dancing

Differences in knots and studs

A real geisha from a yujo (a woman selling the body) can also be distinguished externally. A geisha's kimono is tied at the back with a complex beautiful knot that can neither be untied nor tied without outside help. Geisha make-up and put on kimono also with the help of specially trained people or students in their home. Courtesans, on the other hand, dress more simply, their kimono is tied with a simple knot in the front, which is easy to tie and untie several times a day. In addition, depending on the status, the decorations in the hairstyles of prostitutes also varied: a different number of hairpins with various pendants and combs, while geisha were allowed to wear only one simple comb and hairpin.

A geisha kimono is tied in the back with a large intricate knot.

A geisha kimono is tied in the back with a large intricate knot.

Geisha training

Previously, the girl ended up in the okiya, the house of geishas, ​​in her childhood, where she was often sold by poor parents. Now, according to the law, girls must receive a certificate of secondary education, and only after 15 years can they go to work for geishas. In a geisha's house, girls become essentially maids, doing the cleaning. A little later, they become assistants to senior geishas.

Geisha continue to learn throughout their lives

In parallel with this, girls are being trained: they attend geisha classes that are dedicated to music, dance, ikebana, painting and other things that will help the geisha entertain the client. In addition, all geisha are required to understand politics and current events, because sometimes you have to maintain a conversation with high-ranking officials. Geisha continue to learn throughout their lives.

Geisha in training

After six months, girls take an exam and go through a kind of initiation ceremony called “misedashi”. Since then, the girls officially receive the title of "maiko", that is, geisha students. In addition, each maiko gets an older sister, a kind of mentor who helps her in her studies, and when the younger sister starts her career, she helps to find clients. The success of the future geisha depends on the influence of the elder sister. Often the older geisha of the house becomes the elder sister. To create conditional ties of kinship, a special ceremony is held, which has a close connection with wedding traditions. Often the younger sister is compared with the bride, and the older sister with the groom.

Retirement from the profession

Of course, a woman can stop being a geisha, because this, in fact, is exactly the same profession as any other, and when entering an okiya, girls enter into a contract. The tradition of the departure holiday was borrowed by geishas from the quarters of prostitutes, where a woman's exit from prostitution was made when she paid off her debts and became a free woman.

The work of a geisha is exactly the same profession as any other.

When a geisha leaves her home due to old age or marriage, she sends a gift in the form of a box of boiled rice to all her teachers, friends and clients.

Now the profession of a geisha is no longer so popular, because the traditions, the keepers of which they are considered to be, are already outdated. But nevertheless, from year to year, girls still appear who want to connect their lives with this unusual occupation.

Ekaterina Astafieva

Literally from the Japanese language, the word “geisha” is translated as “man of art”.
The word “ ” in Russian appeared as a result of an incorrect transcription of the English spelling of the word “geysya”. Geisha can be translated as “a person of art” or “a person with skill”, “a craftswoman”, this word indicates the main characteristic of a geisha - these are women who are perfectly able to entertain the public using the techniques that were in use in the 18th-19th centuries - dance, singing, jokes, including those with pronounced erotic overtones. During a fun feast, unlike modest Japanese wives (who are usually not invited there), they do not let tipsy men go down in witticisms, sometimes making them blush. Emphasized eroticism, coupled with an indirect belonging to the “fun districts” and the status of the “eternal bride” (there are no married geishas) gave rise to the myth of easy accessibility. They themselves consider identifying them with prostitutes (), if not an insult, then at least a gross mistake.
, not sex, casual conversation, not knowledge of 48 poses - that's why go to a geisha. One way or another, but everything speaks of the creative nature of this profession.
This is easy to see just by looking at geishas up close. Their whole appearance, in fact, is a mask, which is determined by their traditional position in society. Elegant, with high old hairstyles (today these are wigs), they are far from reality and rather resemble beauties from the 18th-19th centuries. However, upon closer examination, it is difficult to call them beauties - an incredibly thick layer of powder turns even young, pretty faces into unnaturally white masks with teeth blackened in the old fashion. Little of, you can often meet geishas of middle and even venerable age. good wine time adds strength and flavor, geishas - skill and sophistication.

The homeland of geisha - has long been a stronghold of this profession. As early as the beginning of the 19th century, there were already five entertainment districts where they worked. Now there are six of them: the elite and world-famous, the less prestigious but more democratic Ponto-cho, and the little-known Higashi-shinchi, Miyagawa-cho, Kamishichiken. In the alma mater of the first geishas - Shimabara, things are now so bad that, most likely, his "masters" will be included in the number of legends in the near future.
In general, everything is a continuous chronicle of unprecedented ups and downs that almost wiped them off the face of the earth. For the first time, Kyoto's "flower quarters" - hanamachi, found themselves in the face of a severe crisis after the transfer of the capital from to in the 70s of the century before last. Together with the main clients - members of the government, high-ranking officials and senior officers, most of the income also moved there. The danger was so great that, left without such a serious source of replenishment of the budget, the mayor decided to hold a special holiday in 1875 - geisha festival. On this occasion, a brochure was even published on a practically unknown then in Japan English language. The idea turned out to be so successful that the festival was held several more times, and since 1952, it has been held twice a year, and has become a kind of visiting card.
The areas in which the geisha communities were located were called “flower streets” (hanamachi).
A whole quarter has been preserved in - where they have been living for more than two hundred years. Traditional two-storey houses with a clear geometry of the outer grilles, today, unlike in former times, they look mysteriously secretive. Previously, this quarter, along with the geishas, ​​was inhabited by many craftsmen who served them. They created jewelry, shoes, various accessories, musical instruments, fans, household items. The descendants of some of them continue to live here and work for the geishas, ​​thereby enhancing the atmosphere of the reserve in this area.
The geishas of Kyoto are the most famous in the country. They have become part of what makes this city so attractive. They can be seen at various festivities - they hold, give small performances and, by their very presence, bring the aroma of antiquity.

Every year in May, people from all over the country come to Kyoto to enjoy the dancing. Outwardly, they look like - in the same wonderful ones, only the ends of the brocade belts are not tied, but loosened at the back. This beautiful spectacle has become one of the festivals of national traditions.
Only in Kyoto there is a school where girls from the age of seven or eight begin to teach the art of geisha - the ability to sing, dance, make up, put on and wear a kimono, play the shamisen - a three-stringed instrument with a long neck, conduct a tea ceremony, various entertaining games and, of course , a special skill of conversation with men. It is believed that one of the main reasons for the attractiveness of geishas for Japanese men is their liberated conversation, natural communication with them and the ability to flatter male pride, which women of other social strata, bound by traditional conventions, could never afford, which formed, or rather, fettered the female national character.
Geishas were part of the entertainment system. Taking care of morality, the government isolated the "fun neighborhoods", bringing them out of the city. So in 1617 the famous Yoshiwara in Edo (Tokyo), and in 1640 - Shimabara in Kyoto. These quarters were very densely populated. Their main inhabitants - "priestesses of love" - ​​were completely dependent on their owners, with whom they entered into contracts for certain periods, and sometimes the owners simply bought girls and young girls from impoverished parents. , although they were closely associated with these quarters, they were not inhabited. They were invited only as performers and hosts of various feasts. So they earned their living in a different way than, but you could also arrange a date with them.
and are very close to each other not only because they lived in the common space “kuruva” (enclosed place), as they began to call “fun quarters” after isolation, but also because the historical lines of their existence are intertwined in such a way that they still remain some confusion: which one is which?
Joro were divided into ranks - from the highest paid tayu and tenjin to street, out-of-class, prostitutes. By the end of the XVII - beginning of the XVIII century. already firmly occupied a certain niche in urban life. On the one hand, they were outcasts in society, and on the other hand, they were celebrities, trendsetters and destroyers of men's hearts. Their popularity contributed to the flourishing of a new genre in painting, and then in engraving - bijinga (“paintings of beauties”).

In fact, a geisha is the progenitor and true keeper of the modern deity - style. A sense of style, which in her case was called iki is everything for a geisha. A geisha is an absolutely stylish person in the modern sense of the word and is completely devoted to him.
For all her super-education, restraint and tact, she is bold, free in every sense, including financial, to the point of thoughtlessness, has impeccable taste, is laid-back and sincere, elegant, even extravagant in moderation, and rushes around the world without thinking about the little things, completely focusing only on being on the crest of the wave, on the very edge of it. The fact that her wave has remained in the past is not her fault, but the whole of Japan, which lost its competition to the West. And the elite that lost to the masses and mass culture. It has long been - since the thirties of the twentieth century, no longer ahead, behind, in tradition, in a kind of cultural ghetto, from which the pole of public life has left, albeit not so far. Perhaps, at the end of postmodernity, fashion will generally lose its avant-garde and finally turn into the past - into ethnic tradition. Then and again it will come to the very crest of the wave, where it belongs.
But back to our "willows". Like , geisha are not allowed to marry without "going out of business". Only “mothers” have such a right. The transition from a woman was usually accompanied by a loss of virginity (in Japan, after the transition from a girl to a woman, it is customary to change her hair and tuck it, and once married women generally blackened their teeth). This procedure took place almost like a rite, called mizu-age, but it was performed by one of the elderly and respected clients hanamichi. During the week, he came to drink the yolks of three eggs, and rub the whites into the labia, each time deeper and deeper, so that, finally, on the seventh day, enter the calmed girl.
Concentrating on the entertainment side of the "business", geisha gained more and more popularity. Especially valued and respected Geisha from Kyoto, cities with ancient cultural traditions. However, the geisha were not limited to traditions, but constantly invented new types of hairstyles, new dances and songs. When, by the middle of the nineteenth century. the persecution of prostitution began; Beautiful women with whitened faces and patterned ones are now revered as the highest symbol of traditional culture. Their life is shrouded in various legends.
It is a great honor for a Japanese to be invited to an evening with a geisha. She is for him both the embodiment of a dream and a faithful accomplice at the same time. Geisha fill the evenings of wealthy Japanese with unobtrusive animation and at the same time give the meeting a powerful erotic charge.
Outwardly extremely restrained, they are capable of a playful joke, while maintaining an aura of good manners and aloofness. Sexually, the Japanese do not recognize taboo. Erotica, like singing and dancing, is a high art for them.
In the presence of a geisha, any man, whether a director of a company or a minister, turns into a child dreaming of her favor, which, by the way, he can be denied.
However, you need to be Japanese to appreciate the very fact of being invited to the geisha society. If only because money doesn't matter here. Recommendations are needed. After all, a visit to a geisha is a kind of ticket to a closed club for a respectable audience.

Today, many geisha continue to live in traditional geisha homes, but some, especially in the capital, Tokyo, have become much more self-reliant and independent. The traditions of the profession have been preserved mainly in Kyoto, in the prestigious areas of Gion and Ponto-cho.
There are very few geisha left in modern Japan, even in Japan, so if in the 1920s there were more than 80 thousand geisha throughout the country, at present their number does not exceed a thousand, of which there are about a hundred. Even Gion's visitors

😉 Hello curious readers! Who are geisha in Japan? I hope that in this article and video you will find a detailed and understandable answer.

japanese geisha

Communication is the main thing in people's lives, neither gold nor rags, but sincere human communication. And if your friend or interlocutor is a pleasant and intelligent person, it is always a holiday!

A geisha is a highly educated woman who entertains her guests or guest (client) with dancing, singing or pleasant conversation on any topic during the tea ceremony.

She is dressed in a kimono and wears traditional makeup and hair. Her profession is denoted by the two characters for "art" (gei) and "man" (xia), meaning "man of art" (geisha).

In conversations, a geisha is an excellent psychologist. After a visit to such a psychologist, men restore spiritual harmony, and they gain confidence in themselves and their abilities. Any man feels like a king with a wise and sophisticated woman who will inspire him that he is the best.

A bit of history

Initially, geisha were only men. These were ringleaders, such as toastmasters or entertainers.

More than four centuries ago, the first professional female geisha appeared in the Japanese city of Kyoto. Soon the representatives of the weaker sex ousted men from this work. At the beginning of the XIX century. the term "geisha" became the designation of an exclusively female profession.

More often, girls from poor families became geishas. Only capable and pretty girls were chosen for training. In a difficult school they were taught, fed, clothed, but also assigned the dirtiest housework. Corporal punishment was practiced in the school.

Previously, the education of girls began at the age of ten, and today - strictly from the age of sixteen.

In the strictest discipline, young girls were taught:

• playing musical instruments;
• conducting a tea ceremony;
• dancing;
• poetry;
• singing;
• foreign languages;
• subtleties of appearance;
• the art of massage;
• basics of etiquette.

Education cost a lot of money. When the girl began to earn money on her own, she gradually paid for her studies.

Geisha, 1926

Interesting fact. If, after learning the profession, an apprentice (maiko) does not lose her virginity, she cannot be considered a real geisha. This is the only moment in a girl's life when she performs a sexual service to a client in without fail. Differences:

• red collar kimono - student (maiko),
• White color the collar is already a geisha.

The candidate for the right of the first night was selected with great care. And that right was worth it big money. And then the girls are not required to provide guests with intimate services. A geisha has sex with a man exclusively for own will and more often with his patron.

The client will never dare to ask this super woman for a sexual favor.

Danna

A first-class geisha must have at least 28 kimonos made of the finest silk. Why exactly 28? According to Japanese tradition, the year is divided into 28 seasons. The color and ornament of a certain kimono corresponds to the season. Each kimono costs several thousand dollars!

Often a geisha had his own patron - "danna". She spent most of her working time with him. The trustee must support the girl, which for him was considered an indicator of prestige and well-being.

Often the trustee had children from her, whom he also took care of. A patron cannot legally marry his geisha. And a geisha has no right to get married while in this "business".

Geishas never provide intimate services to clients. If she has sex with a man, then only of her own free will.

Damaged reputation

The image of an elite, educated and sophisticated geisha was badly damaged by rude American soldiers during the Second World War. The word "geisha" began to be identified with the image of the representatives of the most ancient profession. You can distinguish a geisha from a Japanese one by their appearance:

• among representatives of the most ancient profession, the kimono belt is tied in front with a simple knot in order to easily get rid of clothes, shoes on bare feet;
• the "porcelain beauty" - the geisha behind the kimono has a large number of difficult knots. And her feet are in white socks.

Geisha Secrets

The modern geisha is fluent in several languages. He knows how to keep up a conversation on any topic and create a comfortable atmosphere in any company. She has information about current events in the country and abroad. Real geisha:

• strives for self-improvement;
• well-groomed and tidy;
• looking after health appearance and posture;
• knows how to listen and hear the interlocutor;
• answer the question with a smile;
• has a rich vocabulary and delivered speech;
• will not judge or impose their opinion;
• modest, calm and submissive;
• is in good mood;
• does not violate the rules of etiquette;
• light flirting does not go beyond the bounds of decency;
• knows how to keep secrets and secrets;
• it is impossible to offend her;
• carries himself with dignity;
• knows how to win and keep any man;
• exudes positivity and love for life.

As you can see, the behavior Japanese beauty similar to the behavior of the European. In any case, there is much to learn from young girls and mature women. After all, it is never too late to improve and work on yourself. This is personal development.

Having comprehended these wise secrets, many women will keep the freshness of feelings with a partner or spouse. In this video, additional information to the article "Who are geishas in Japan"

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The geisha is one of the most iconic images we associate with Japan. If there's one thing that most Westerners can say they know about Japan, it's that they had those female prostitutes who smeared their faces with thick white paint. One problem: it's not. Geisha were not prostitutes, and they did not always cover their faces with white paint. And for a while they weren't even women.

10 The First Geisha Were Men

The first female geisha appeared in 1752, before that the very idea that a geisha could be a woman seemed strange. Prior to this, geisha had been male for several hundred years. Until the 1600s, they were not called geisha, but they existed 500 years before that.
Since the 13th century, there have been people who have done exactly what geisha did: they entertain noble men, treat them to tea, sing for them, tell funny stories and make them feel like the most important people. They entertained the guests, bringing joy.
By the 1800s, it had become commonplace for geisha to be women.
Until now, the Japanese call geisha women geiko, because in Japanese, geisha means a man.

9. Geisha are not prostitutes


Despite what we heard, a geisha did not sell her body. In fact, geisha were strictly forbidden to sleep with their clients.
Geisha were hired to entertain male clients, and the men waited in line, having fun with real prostitutes - courtesans called oiran.
Some brothels even forbade geisha from sitting too close to men for fear that they would steal oiran customers. This was something the geisha were proud of. In the 19th century, the motto of a geisha was: "We sell art, not bodies." "We never sold ourselves, our bodies for money."

8. Geisha - a man of art


Geishas were people of art - in fact, that's what the word geiko means. Geishas have been learning music and dance for years and it never stops. No matter how old a geisha is, she was required to play music every day.
Many of them played a stringed instrument called shamisen, and some wrote their own music.
They were famous for writing "melancholic" songs and developing slow, graceful dances filled with complex symbolism. It took years to acquire these skills. Geisha began to learn from the age of six, in the homes of geisha had their own schools of art. On average, one had to study for at least five years in order to be called a geisha.

7 Prostitutes Called Themselves Geishas To Attract Americans


There's a reason we think of geisha as prostitutes. When the US military was stationed in Japan at the end of World War II, prostitutes flocked to them in droves and called themselves geishas. Of course, they weren't real geisha - they just knew that the exotic fantasy of a Japanese geisha would seduce foreigners. And at the end of the war, Japanese girls were in such a plight that they were ready to sleep for food. Hundreds of thousands of Japanese girls slept with American soldiers in exchange for money. By 1949, 80 percent of American soldiers stationed in Japan were sleeping with Japanese girls, usually prostitutes who called themselves "geisha girls."

6 Geisha With White Face Paint Were Underage Girls


The picture that appears in most of our minds when we try to picture a geisha is that of a girl with an elaborate kimono and jewelry in her hair, her entire face covered in white paint.
This is not exactly what a geisha looked like. Geisha covered their faces in white for special occasions, but they generally wore much more subdued makeup that wasn't too dissimilar to the makeup any other woman might wear.
The girls who walked around with white paint during the day were maiko: underage students who trained to become geisha.
These young girls dressed in the way we imagine a geisha today. The white paint and ornament they wore was actually a symbol of inexperience; the more experienced a geisha was, the more flamboyantly she was allowed to dress. By the time a geisha was considered one of the best, she generally got rid of the white face paint.

5. Geisha's predecessors were women who dressed like men.


There was another group called shirabashi, who could be considered an early version of the geisha. These early geisha were women, but they did their best to keep their clients from noticing. Because they dressed like men. Shirabyashi were dancers. They wore white makeup, told stories, put on shows, played music, and entertained guests. They essentially performed the same function as geisha, except that they were all dressed as male samurai.
No one is 100% sure why these women insisted on dressing like men, but the most popular theory is that their clients were samurai.
At that time, most samurai took boys as lovers. It is believed that these girls are dressed as boys simply because that is what the men they were trying to impress wanted to see.

4 Most Geishas Had Bald Tops


One sure way to recognize a geisha from a costume is from the bald spot on top of her head. At work, the bald head was covered with a wig or comb. They got bald during training like maiko. Maiko had particularly extravagant hairstyles that required her to pull out a narrow tuft of hair at the top of her head. Geisha called their bald heads a "maiko" medal. In Japan, it was considered a sign of pride. It was a clear sign that they had been studying for many years. Of course, in Europe it was not always as good as at home. One geisha returned humiliated, informing her friends that the Europeans could not understand how a bald head was a matter of pride.

3. The old geisha was more in demand


Not all geisha were young. The heyday of geishas was 50-60 years old, it was believed that at this age a geisha is more beautiful, smarter, more experienced.
Usually, by the age of 30, geisha were allowed not to whiten their faces.
A geisha retired if she got married, but if she wanted to remain a geisha, she continued to be one as long as she wanted. The world's oldest geisha still working, Yuko Asakusa, is 94 years old and has been working as a geisha since she was 13. She is usually hired by politicians and incredibly wealthy business clients who are willing to pay a little more.

2 Geisha Training Was So Strict It's Illegal Today


Modern geisha are not exactly the same as they used to be.
In the good old days, the life of a geisha usually began with her impoverished family selling her to a geisha house, and her training began when she was six years old.
There are about 250 geiko and maiko working in Kyoto today, compared to 2,000 who worked there a hundred years ago. The modern geisha, however, is very different from yesterday's geisha. They don't start training until they're 15, they don't work alongside courtesans, and they don't go through a rigorous training system. Some geisha houses today only offer one day of instruction per week. In 1998, some parents actually tried to sell their child to geisha houses, but it didn't quite work. They went to prison - selling people is illegal these days.

1. There is also a male geisha


There are still male geisha. There are a surprisingly large number of men who still work as geishas. Up to 7,000 male geisha work in Tokyo's Kabuki-cho area.
The return of male geishas began in the 1960s when the market opened up to wealthy women who were bored while their husbands were at work. These husbands often didn't do business in the geisha houses, and the women believed they deserved their own geisha houses, so they started hiring men to entertain them. Today, there are several clubs where women can hire "male geisha", more commonly referred to as husuto. They usually don't have the artistic talents of the geisha of the past, but they can still drink with women, flatter them, and make them feel special.

The idea that a geisha is an ordinary prostitute, only Japanese, appeared immediately after the Second World War, when the country was flooded with occupying troops. The brave American soldiers, going on leave, constantly hunted for booze and sexual pleasures. Not very educated, not knowing the language and not used to immersing themselves in a foreign culture, but young and full of testosterone, they quickly turned the word "geisha" into a synonym for a call girl. Local pimps, of course, did not object to them.

In fact, everything is not quite right. Or, more accurately, not at all. The first mention of geisha dates back to the XIV-XV centuries. In Japanese, "gei" means "art" and "Xia" means "person." Thus, geisha literally means "artist". So called people who entertained guests at banquets. Initially, these were men from humble samurai families.

After the shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu united the country at the very beginning of the 17th century and moved the capital from Kyoto to Edo (today's Tokyo), he began to build roads - wide and convenient tracts for movement. The first and most important connected the two main cities, more than 500 kilometers apart. Stations were equipped on it every thirty kilometers, where one could rest and spend the night. Tea houses sprang up very quickly there. To increase the popularity of their establishments, the owners began to hire beautiful and smart girls. Peasant women were not suitable for this, but at that time there were many representatives of samurai families on the market. Before Tokugawa pacified the rebellious clans, a huge number of samurai died in civil strife. No one was going to support their wives, sisters and daughters. In order to survive, women willingly settled in establishments on the highways.

Noble girls, trained in good manners, able to keep up the conversation, able to dance and play musical instruments, quickly gained popularity. Now they are called geishas. Other ladies could really glorify their institution. Japanese guidebooks of the 17th-19th centuries even indicated which tea houses you should definitely look into for pleasant leisure. It wasn't about sex, though. Geisha sold their art. For prostitutes, of whom there were also many, another term was assigned. They were called girls who impose rice.

The best geisha, reputedly, worked at the very last station in Kyoto. It was there that the famous Gion tea district grew up, where a closed geisha class still exists.

Under Tokugawa and his descendants, peace reigned in the country for 250 years. The military class ceased to decline, and as a result, the influx of samurai women into tea houses stopped. In order to survive, the corporation of geishas, ​​for whom the demand was still huge, developed strict rules for internal reproduction.

An experienced old geisha became a mother-san, and in her subordination were several older and younger "sisters", whom she taught the profession. Beautiful and promising girls aged 5 to 9 years old were now bought from peasants and fishermen. For all participants in the process, this turned out to be ideal solution. In peasant families, it was not customary to protect themselves, many children were born, but not everyone had enough food. Therefore, until the Meiji era in Japan, there was a custom of "thinning", when extra mouths, especially girls, were purposefully disposed of.

For a commoner, becoming a geisha meant pulling out a lucky ticket. But life in the tea houses was quite harsh - the strictest discipline, grueling training, lack of personal freedom. All the "sisters" were fully supported by mom-san. She fed them, dressed them (by the way, the kimono cost fabulous money) and taught them everything. If the girl did not live up to expectations, she was driven away, and her further fate was unenviable. If she did not die of hunger under the fence, then she inevitably became a prostitute. She could no longer return to her family.

For several decades, each "sister" had to work off everything that mother-san spent on her. But the demand for geisha services was huge, and they paid well for it. Only rich and noble feudal lords could afford to invite them to dinner, who, while having a pleasant pastime, decided their business and political issues. It was then that a very important rule for the corporate culture of geishas was formed - under no circumstances should you tell what happened at the banquet. This principle is sacredly observed to this day. Almost…

When the younger "sister" was 13 years old, mom-san could sell her virginity to a wealthy philanthropist. Again, it was not about one-time sex. The patron paid a hefty sum to the owner of the tea house to cover her expenses, and subsequently took the geisha to full support. The same was true for adult "sisters". The redeemed geisha acquired the status of a mistress, received good house and solid content, was a member of the circles of the political and military elite.

Today, girls aged 15-16 become geishas. They come to the tea house, having previously received consent from their parents. The rules of life in a corporation are no longer so strict, but you can’t call them easy either. Girls follow a strict regimen, rehearse daily, learn manners, master musical instruments, learn traditional dances, the performance of which requires incredible endurance. They are forbidden to use computers, and until the age of 25 they cannot even have mobile phone. Once a week, girls do intricate hairstyles. In order not to disturb the styling, they sleep reclining, resting their heads on a special wooden stand. That's still a pleasure. But the game is definitely worth the candle.

You can’t get into the tea house from the outside, no matter how much money you offer. Entry is possible only on the recommendation of someone who is already accepted there. The Japanese value older geishas above all, foreigners value those who are younger, even if they have not reached the heights of skill.

Since the tea house is practically inaccessible to tourists, geishas are invited to the restaurant by prior arrangement. Usually three craftswomen are invited at once - a very experienced older "sister", her younger ward and a musician girl. A special lunch will cost about $ 150 per person, and you pay for alcohol separately. A foreigner will inevitably need an interpreter, because the "sisters" hardly speak English, but they can express themselves in the Kyoto dialect. Feel free to add another hundred and fifty for translation and the same amount for food, because otherwise the translator does not work. Finally, for a two-hour chat with a geisha, regardless of her age and experience, you will have to pay another 600 dollars. In total, a very impressive amount runs into the circle. At the same time, no sex, only pleasant conversation, music and dancing. In one evening, each geisha attends several banquets. This is really hard work, but she earns from 5 to 10 thousand dollars a month.

Today there are geisha in Kyoto, Tokyo, Kanazawa and some other cities. The largest corporation, with about 200 craftswomen and about 80 more apprentices, is located in Kyoto. In Tokyo there are about 250 of them, and in Kanazawa there are only 40-odd. In other places, even less - from 4 to 12 people. But some hundred years ago, there were more than 80 thousand of them throughout the country. By the way, there are no tea houses in Tokyo, all the girls live in their apartments and just come for dinner. Provided that you are lucky to contact them, you will be able to agree (for this you still need to find the right intermediary!), And there is an open window in their busy schedule.

Note: In different parts In Japan, at thermal springs popular with tourists, there are so-called geisha associations. But this should not be misleading. In fact, we are talking about the most ordinary hostesses in kimonos, who are not averse to providing intimate services for an additional fee.

By the age of forty, the “sister” usually recoups the money invested in her and, in principle, can leave the tea house to open her own business. Other craftswomen manage to make a brilliant career and earn up to 100 thousand dollars a month. But, of course, not all. The practice of buying a geisha from mother-san also persists. Therefore, as in ancient times, other influential people can afford to have such exceptional mistresses. Finally, a geisha is not forbidden to marry, but then she loses the right to a profession. Therefore, modern geisha prefer not to fetter themselves by marriage.

The golden rule of silence is also preserved. In recent history, it has been violated only once, but it has seriously damaged the reputation of the entire industry. The offender turned out to be ... an American geisha, who mentioned in an interview about how she worked out a banquet for a very famous Japanese corporation. In the last decades of the last century, foreigners began to work in tea houses. But after the scandal that broke out, this practice was immediately put an end to.

Geisha are an essential element of modern Japanese culture, which, despite a century and a half of Westernization, is still committed to tradition. But looking at all this from the outside, it is difficult to get rid of the feeling that you are dealing with sublimation. In a traditional society, which in addition has an island specificity, sex life has historically been heavily regulated. But in a striking way, sexual barriers exist in modern Japan, although their nature is different.

Over the past decades, many Japanese women choose not a family, as before, but a career. They have achieved financial independence, traveled, married late, had children late, if at all.

Japanese men, who have always dominated society, found themselves in an unusual position for themselves, confused. The gender pendulum has swung the other way. Now women decide who to meet, how often to do it, and whether to do it at all. After the first date, they can easily give the boyfriend a turn. And for a man, this becomes a severe psychological trauma. He acutely feels that he is no longer a leader and, in addition, "loses face."

Inwardly fearing this, many avoid dating, preferring to spend time at work in the office or spend it with same-sex friends, or even alone. According to statistics, up to 20 percent of men under the age of 24 remain virgins. Many have forgotten how to get acquainted. Despite the fact that the value of the family in Japan is not only not disputed, but remains of high importance.

Someone is looking for a way out in visiting the so-called dating parties, where people come with a specific desire to find a partner. If not for marriage, then at least for a long-term relationship. The demand for such services is so great that it is simply impossible to get there. First you need to join the club by submitting a bunch of applications and paying an impressive fee ranging from 700 to 2200 dollars. Added to this is a monthly fee of $100 to $300. Participants pay separately for visiting each party. While the result is not guaranteed. Well, if everything ends well and the members of the club find their soul mate, the club receives about another $ 2,000 in commission. It would seem much easier, faster and cheaper to go to some bar, where there are always a lot of free girls. An no.

But what about sex? Yes, yes, the same one - impressive and without obligations? For this they go to another place, but again, only those lucky ones who have money. Prostitution in Japan has been officially banned since 1947, but local priestesses of love and their patrons have found an opportunity to practice their craft without breaking the law. The fact is that paid sex with penetration is considered prostitution in the Land of the Rising Sun. The authorities turn a blind eye to everything else.

This has given rise to a huge number of massage ("pink") salons, the facades of which are decorated with very unambiguous pictures. And the girls at the entrance will clearly explain what's what. There is also the so-called "home delivery of health" - everything is the same, only they come to you.

Massage is done in all possible ways and parts of the body, often in a soapy bath, bringing the client to orgasm as many times as he has enough strength within a couple of hours. The issue price is from 60 to 150 dollars per session. There are plenty of such establishments in every major city. In Tokyo, they are concentrated in the Kabukichō quarter in eastern Shinjuku, right next to the huge railway hub through which 4 million people pass daily. However, it should be remembered that many local establishments hold yakuza. Therefore, it is not safe for a careless foreigner there. For unordered beer, they can easily roll out a bill of 500 bucks, and for refusing to pay, they can get pretty beat up.

But the limit of the desires of single Japanese men are the so-called "soapy lands", where a session will cost 300 bucks, and for foreigners three times more expensive. These establishments are somewhat reminiscent of Turkish baths, only with girls. The apotheosis of the visit is the "struggle" on air mattress generously oiled. It is almost impossible to stay on it, so you have to take extra efforts. In private conversations with a Lenta.ru correspondent, eyewitnesses have repeatedly admitted that during such a “fight” they experienced the strongest sexual shock in their lives. "Soaplands" - the most real brothels. But they pay taxes, and of course they have bathtubs, so they don't check them...

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