Sociology

The differing perspectives regarding geisha have caught the attention of the world after it was revealed among the Western world. What makes geisha interesting to non-Japanese is its association with prostitution which according to history began during the 17th century. The question as to how Japanese people view and accept geisha practices as part of its culture and history points to the concept that it possesses a form of prostitution but in a more modest way that is kept unchanged throughout many years.  The story of Sayuri as Golden recalled in his book The Memoirs of Geisha is a story of betrayal and deceiving as a Geisha though ended happily, her life had evolved with different men who wanted to become her danna (Memoirs). Despite that, Geisha culture as art-entertainment has been treasured as a uniquely Japanese tradition, which the modern Japan reinvents.

Geisha in the eyes of foreign nationals beginning World War II would refer to Japanese prostitutes who populated most of the cities of Japan during the American occupation. For this reason, the traditional concept that gave importance to the culture of ancient Japan had been exploited over a period of time in such a way that historical development as well as changing economic condition affected somehow this cultural practice of the people. For this reason, the term geisha evolved long time ago as a practice associated in prostitution in the perspective of both Japanese and non-Japanese people. But most importantly, it must understand that geisha practice is rooted in the history of the ancient Japan as early as 7th century and as per records, its importance is parallel with that of samurai in terms of the major role it played in the history of Japan.  Maske had stated, Geisha have been a source of fascination and fantasy for nearly 250 years, but they have also been misunderstood and misrepresented (quoted in Geisha). Nowadays, though it decreased in number, still many women continue its practice with a deep conviction and dedication to continue the long tradition of art-entertainment geisha in order to bring out its cultural importance in the eyes of contemporary world.

Brief history
Geisha in its literal meaning refers to art people (Sosnoski, p. 40). As opposed to the understanding of foreigners, geisha according to Sosnoki has a long and honorable history (p. 40), which Japanese people today keeps as part of their culture and history. Geisha traditionally refers to Japanese entertainer that served the imperial palace in the 7th century but later occupied small houses near temples and shrines to entertain customers through dancing and playing instruments.  The question as to how the traditional concept of geisha has changed will be determined by many factors accompanying the economic condition since the 17th century until the end of the World War II.  The challenge therefore in restoring the traditional geisha gives the modern Japan an opportunity to reinvent it in such a way that it would reflect the glorious and rich Japanese culture and history, though at some point its connection with prostitution cannot be denied.

The history of geisha recorded the two forerunners known as Saburuko that came into existence in 7th century and Shibyoshi of the 13th century (Immortal Geisha). During this period, young women of eighteen years of age were adopted into a licensed entertainment place where they were trained to learn Japanese songs and dances (Sosnoski, p. 40). Henshall (1999) referring to geisha of 17th century, described geisha as artistic person as they were trained in musical and dramatic arts in particular, as well as their general command of etiquette (p. 16).  Most importantly, Henshall emphasized that Officially geisha have not been classed as prostitutes, and were not, but in practice they have been known to provide sexual favours in addition to the entertainment covered by their fee (p. 16).

Throughout centuries, geisha evolved as a means to support these women financially. Feldman and Gordon recalled deplorable fate of these women from being recognized as skilled female performers who were thought to have a shamanistic ability to communicate with spirits and gods and regarded as professionals with privilege of being identified as belonging to the court (p. 243) into becoming sex objects. It is important to note as well that prostitution had existed during the pre-geisha period. It is stated that Saburuko (earliest form of Geisha) were the result of an increasing social displacement towards the end of the 17th century (Immortal Geisha), in which out of necessity to live, they traded their body as sexual favors to aristocratic customers.

There are many factors that contributed to the association of geisha with prostitution. Feldman and Gordon remarked that the ancient imperial Japan was weakened by the rise of samurai through which female sexuality began to be commercialized as a market economy developed (244). During this period that sexual labor of female entertainment was legalized and women were exploited. Similarly, Andressen recounted the negative side of the progressive Japan during the Samurai period in which according to him, One famous result of the growth of the affluent urban merchant class was the creation of pleasure quarters in the cities, the so-called floating world where men of various classes could shed their worldly cares (p. 72), referring to the place of Edo. The rise in the number of young women who engaged in geisha during the Tokugawa period was due to the fact that these women became geisha out of necessity (p. 17) as most of them were sold or indentured to a geisha house by country parents who usually  but not always  needed the cash (Henshall, p. 17).  This practice according to Henshall continued until World War II.

The earliest form of Geisha and the religious influence
The emergence of female Geisha or female entertainers during the ancient Imperial Japan prior to the rise of Samurai was influenced by its religious ideology and teaching, in particular of Buddhism and Confucianism. As Tokita and Hughes recalled, the role of women during the pre-Buddhism and pre-Chinese period was very important in celebration of rituals (p. 14). They composed the group of performers in the courtyards as musicians and dancers. The changes took place over a period of time. They quoted, Although in ancient times women were significant carriers of religious activities and performing arts, they became marginalized in the medieval period (p. 13). For this reason, women were replaced by men in performing religious and political rituals.  As they were banned from performing in public especially during the Edo period, most of them were demoted to the licensed quarters of prostitution (Tokita  Hughes, p. 13).  Thus, the emergence of all-male genre in entertainment caused the suppression of womens performance, which continued until the modern period. The attitude of powerlessness of Japanese women can be attributed to Buddhism teaching in which renunciation or resignation from oneself is a symbolism that she detaches herself from the things of this world (Pincus, p. 226).

The training for Geisha
The training for Geisha now and then has little discrepancy. Both include advancing her proficiency in terms of artistic ability which includes dancing, playing traditional musical instrument, singing, and even the art of entertaining and graceful actions. The training usually begins in childhood and takes many years before becoming a full-pledged geisha. ONeal noted that A Geisha is trained from her childhood to attract, please, and entertain men, particularly wealthy businessmen (p. 17).  According to him, a young girl is trained to learn basic skills such as music, the arts, voice, make-up, and hair in order to  become ever more desirable, more alluring, and more intoxicating to the men she will entertain (p. 17).

The Life of the Geisha
The life of a geisha is both sweet and bitter. Many stories of geisha since the ancient times recalled entering the profession against their will, which they eventually learned to accept in order to live. Cass cited the desperate condition of geisha during the Ming Dynasty. He stated, For most geishas, life in the education district consisted of sexual servitude. Male guests selected a geisha and paid for sexual intercourse with her, or paid for her presence at drunken, orgiastic parties. Nor could the life in the district provide economic independence for most geishas (p. 25). Geisha life appears like a hell as more women were forced to enter geisha area (even the most educated and intelligent of women were not exempted) during the earliest period of geisha, in which there was no way to escape.

Likewise, for a geisha of a young age in order to become a full geisha needs a sexual initiation by his danna or sponsor who pays for her virginity in a large sum of money and who provides her with all her necessity for a certain period of time. Her relationship with her danna is different from a lover because a geisha can have a lover while being cared for by a danna. Likewise, a geisha is expected to possess the ability to stir sexual favor with her guest without necessarily engaging in sexual intercourse. Basically, geisha generally know more about sex than housewives do. They provide Japanese men the satisfaction of their ego which is not given by their wives.

Duty of a geisha
History tells that art-entertainment has evolved in Japan prior to Buddhism and Chinese influence in which women were as significant as men in performing rituals through musical presentation. At the turn of centuries, geisha retained its musical inclination but revolved around entertaining guests at tea houses specifically, during the Edo period that a quarter was assigned to them to perform prostitution. Overtime, even the most educated and intelligent women of that period were succumbed to geisha usually by force.  Since then, geisha takes the duty of providing pleasure to guests through entertainment by means of musical presentation and by all means as possible.

Different aspects of Geisha practices
As a requirement, Geisha has to undergo several preparations in order to make herself beautiful and attractive to her guests. Each day, they create their face and costume to exaggerate illusion of femininity. The traditional geisha was established in 18th century in which the government created a mandate legalizing its practices along with tax imposition. This government action made the geisha popular especially among affluent people. Nowadays, after it was outlawed, the number of geisha had diminished in the record, there were less than 1,000 women keep the geisha tradition (Golden, p. 4). Despite this number, Golden acknowledged that these geisha receive good compensation for their service and skills. Most importantly, contemporary geisha struggle to correct the assumption of Westerners regarding geisha

The contemporary geisha
Today, the geisha have come to represent the epitome of Japanese elegance and has become the prevailing icons of Japanese womanhood. It can be argued that the contemporary geisha has deviated from the geisha that is part of the early Japanese history where the geisha served as entertainer to businessmen and politicians through their dancing and the wearing of beautiful kimono. The old reputations of geisha as prostitutes have been replaced by a positive identity. Richie and Iyer (2002) stated that the general impression of contemporary geisha is that they are rare, talented creature, someone to be approached slowly and with tact, a fragile and flower-like being who wilts at a glance, and whose favors, by reason of their supposed rarity, are to be treasured and sought after at any price (p. 192).    

Given this positive description of the contemporary geisha, it seemed that it is very logical to assume that the early geisha institution had collapse and that the geisha women had transformed to become icons of Japanese womanhood. This transformation on the geisha identity is depicted by Richie and Iyer in their description of the modern geisha. According to them, the contemporary geisha are expected to be especially knowledgeable. Richie and Iyer stated that the contemporary geisha are expected to understand some of the basic knowledge particularly in sports and even stock market (p. 192).

The contemporary geisha though still serving as entertainer in various district in Japan yet they are far from the prostitution image of the past. While some of the geisha may have transformed from being prostitute to a more descent individual in view of the task assign to them, many of them simply evolved to a high status and more money making job of entertainment.

How are they different from each other
The concept of different geisha may sprang from the varied understanding of what really the work the geisha was engaged especially during the early time. Ahmed (2002) contends that despite of the high respect afforded by most Japanese to the geisha culture, there was the concept of geisha as an institution of prostitution. Ahmed identified the original geisha women as skilled entertainer who performed dancing, singing, poetry, and formal tea ceremonies.  However, this positive reputation was marred by the notion of prostitution. Thus, according to Ahned, there are now all sorts of geisha

From the above context, geisha may be different from each other in view of the function they are doing. The identity earlier includes skills such as dancing, singing, and poetry, aside from those who may have been engage in prostitution. Differentiation of geisha therefore can be done through their function and skills.

Generally speaking, there might really be those geishas working as prostitutes, and there are those who find themselves as mistress. There are also the joro which is identified as criminals. Given these points of differences, each geisha can be differentiated by their talents and current condition in life.

Another differentiation may be done in the context of regional differences. Dalby (1983) for instance, stated that geisha in Tokyo are slightly different breed from their Kyoto sisters (p. 165). The difference between geishas of two cities is that geishas in Kyoto are respected and beloved while in Tokyo, they play limited role.