The word "geisha" is considered in the West synonymous with a corrupt woman. But is it worth simplifying? In Japanese it sounds like "geisha" ("gay" - art, "sya" - a person), that is, "a person of art", or "a person with skill" …
Exceptional leisure
When the Europeans found themselves in a previously almost unknown Japan, among other wonders of this country, they were surprised by extraordinary women - geisha. Not understanding the Japanese mentality, foreigners simply considered them Japanese prostitutes, although in reality everything was much more complicated. Geisha are not at all obliged to give a man sexual satisfaction; for many years they learn something completely different - the ability to make his leisure time exceptional. In the process of studying, geisha learn the art of conversation, singing, playing musical instruments …
And if for prostitutes age is the main criterion of price - the younger the priestess of love, the more expensive it costs, then with geisha it is not so. An elderly, wise and experienced geisha is valued much more expensively - like cognac aged over the years …
Geisha students are called maiko, and the school where they learn their craft is called okeyu. If earlier girls went to school at eight or nine years old, now they must first get an initial education, so girls become maiko only at the age of 16. But true connoisseurs of geisha art argue that today's “people of art” are not at all what they were earlier, when they were trained from an early age for their future profession …
In the olden days, the tender age of the maiko made the craft of the geisha part of their flesh and blood. The girls were bought by the mistresses of the okeya, and the students in the future had to work both this money and all the costs of their education and living at the geisha school.
Their existence was quite comfortable - the girls were well fed and dressed. But the training was not easy. The little ones learned to sing, dance, hold a tea ceremony, play the shamisen - the Japanese guitar, as well as the flute and drum. In addition, they had to help the senior geishas put on their elaborate outfits …
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Once the full course of maiko training was completed, the last ritualized rite remained, after which she moved to the rank of geisha. This is deprivation of virginity (mizu-age). A special middle-aged person was hired for the ceremony. The young one did not fit due to inexperience and intemperance. The mizu-age took seven days. Okasan, the head of the geisha community, prepared a special room with a soft and comfortable bed, while she herself hid behind a partition in an adjacent room. Later, during the ceremony, the okasan coughed so that the maiko would not feel lonely.
Kimono and okobo
The science of beauty took a special place in the training of geisha. The girls learned to apply complex makeup.
First, a cream was applied to the face, made according to old recipes, very expensive, including exotic ingredients, such as nightingale droppings. Then the face and neck were rubbed with a piece of wax. And already on top, the famous whitewash was applied - a special paste that makes the face porcelain white.
In the 19th century, a powder called "Chinese clay" was used as white. It was made on the basis of lead, which sometimes led to dire consequences - after removing the makeup, the skin sagged and became covered with terrible wrinkles. Now in Japan there are special factories that produce cosmetics for geisha - using the latest technologies and useful natural substances.
Bright blush was applied over the white. Lips were also smeared with whitewash and a tiny mouth was drawn with lipstick. The geisha was faced with a daunting task - to maintain complex makeup for long hours.
In addition to makeup, the girls also had difficulties with their hairstyle, which was impossible to do on their own. Once a week, a skilled craftsman combed the geisha's hair. The hair was smeared with wax, fancifully styled and created on the head a complex structure with sticks and hairpins sticking out in all directions. With such a hairstyle, a geisha had to live for seven whole days - she went to bed with a roller under her neck. Modern geisha prefer to avoid such complications and use special wigs.
But the most remarkable thing about the geisha's appearance has always been the kimono. A kimono is very expensive, much more expensive than a car, and the more expensive it is, the more its owner is valued. These clothes have certain qualities that make the life of its owner very difficult. The kimono is very narrow and heavy. In addition, he has very long sleeves, and the geisha has to keep his arms raised to prevent the sleeves from dragging along the ground.
Okobo, wooden shoes with leather straps, are especially difficult for movement. The specificity of okobo is that you can only walk in small seeds - they are too heavy and uncomfortable. The geisha's appearance is completed by a small lacquered umbrella, which she holds in her hands.
Chrysanthemum from Fujiyama
After the maiko has mastered all the intricacies of the profession, has acquired all the necessary equipment, she must find a field for herself. More experienced geisha help her in this. Each maiko chooses an older sister who is already well connected and has a clientele. The older sister has many responsibilities: taking the newly made geisha to parties, teaching various subtleties, introducing men. Interestingly, it is also advantageous for the older geisha to have a young and inexperienced maiko nearby - if the clientele increases, then the older one will receive new orders.
For a long time, the newly minted geisha has worked at the expense of past and present debts. Her income is split between the geisha association, older sister and okeyu.
From her significant earnings (on average, an hour of work for a geisha costs 500 dollars) for several years, the girl receives only pitiful crumbs. Therefore, from the first days of work, geisha is concerned with finding data. Danna is the man who will keep the geisha. And I must say that a decent geisha donates her body only to this, and to the rest provides only other services - sings for them, dances or expresses compliments in exquisite expressions, for example: "You look like a blooming chrysanthemum on the slopes of Fujiyama."
Finding the data is not easy, for he has more responsibilities than privileges. Firstly, he must give the geisha school all the debts of the young charming woman, and secondly, take all the expenses for her maintenance, buy clothes and cosmetics. But despite all these difficulties, many quite serious Japanese husbands have, in addition to their official wife, a kept geisha who is not at all hidden from society. The geisha herself has no right to get married, and her daughter must repeat the fate of her mother - she must become a geisha.
In search of female students
Recently, the number of geishas has greatly decreased - if in the 20s of the last century there were about 80 thousand geishas in Japan, then by the 80s there were only about 10 thousand of them, and this number is rapidly decreasing. Now the mistresses of geisha schools are using any means to find new maikos. And new technologies help them in this. Modern okeiyu are looking for female students via the Internet. Geisha schools create their own websites that post tempting ads to recruit girls. The site contains photos of maiko and even electronic diaries of geisha girls, in which they talk about their wonderful life. And the calculation is justified - these technologies are working successfully. Indeed, in recent years there has been a literal influx of girls who want to become geisha.
Magazine: Secrets of the 20th century №42. Author: Anna Nikolaeva