geisha..

[asouatiqah]

Originally Posted by Hiroki

GEISHA AREN'T WHORES/HOOKERS/PROSTITUTES

(Geisha's aren't : yujo, oiran or tayu)

Geisha are for entertaining. They are beautiful and sometimes not it depends on the person you ask for.
Geisha are artists and can play nice Shamisen.

so desu ka..arigato ^_^

[EveV]

Originally Posted by Suki

Sayuri...? Wasn't it her sister Satsu? Or do you mean like in the end of the book when Sayuri agrees to have sex with... whatever it's the name of the man she's having sex with when she gets caught by the Chairman? Oh well, that's after WWII; most geishas had to become prostitues during the postwards days of 40ies/50ies. But originally, being a gesiah did not imply having to have sex with the clients.

Noo doctor crab near the beginning.
When she's becoming a geisha.

[MMM]

Originally Posted by Suki

There are many types of geisha. Some of them sell their body for money, those are called shomben geisha or yujo, also referred to as shirōto (non professional). There's also the odoriko kind, which are the ones specialized in dance, and so on.

Shomben (meaning "piss") geisha, yujo (prostitutes) and shiroto (maids) were not and are not geisha.


There remains some confusion, even within Japan, about the nature of the geisha profession. Geisha are frequently depicted as expensive prostitutes in Western popular culture. Geisha are entertainers, their purpose being to entertain their customer, be it by reciting verse, playing musical instruments, or engaging in light conversation. Geisha engagements may include flirting with men and playful innuendos; however, clients know that nothing more can be expected. In a social style that is uniquely Japanese, men are amused by the illusion of that which is never to be. Geisha do not engage in paid sex with clients.

REF: Henshall, K. G., 1999, A History of Japan, Macmillan Press LTD, London, ISBN 0­333­74940­5, page 61

[Suki]

Originally Posted by EveV

Noo doctor crab near the beginning.
When she's becoming a geisha.

But that's part of the Mizuage ceremony! Every maiko has to go through it if they want to become an actual geisha; that's no act of prostitution o.Ô More like a matter of honor actually, and they don't even get to keep the money they've gotten paid for it; if I'm not wrong, it's either their 'older-sister' (senior geisha mentor) or the okiya they belong to that's given the money.

Originally Posted by MMM

Shomben (meaning "piss") geisha, yujo (prostitutes) and shiroto (maids) were not and are not geisha.

Whatever. They may not be considered to be 'pure' geishas but they offer a way of entertainment which requires all the same rigid apprenticeship "real" geishas have to go through.

[Kanji_The_Wanderer]

Well I may not have the best knowledge, since I didn't read all these other Geisha books, but I do know that prostitution, or having sex with clients, was not part of a model Geisha's code.

They did that as extra, or if they wanted to be more "popular" with the men. It was against their "laws" to have a love, or fall in love. They were merely entertainers.

Yes, Arthur Golden's book was the only book I read on Geisha, but I did do other research upon completion of the book, since my curiosity was peeked ^^

@Noodle - I will look up this other book.

@ SUKI - Never heard of such a thing, not saying it's not true, but it's surprising.

PS. Mizuage was a ceremony, just because she had sex, doesn't mean she was selling her body. It was so she could become a full-Geisha.

[MMM]

Originally Posted by Suki

Whatever. They may not be considered to be 'pure' geishas but they offer a way of entertainment which requires all the same rigid apprenticeship "real" geishas have to go through.

There were only pure geisha. If you were a prostitute, then you weren't a geisha. It's like saying "He was kind of a four-star general". Either you were or you weren't.

[EveV]

Originally Posted by Kanji_The_Wanderer

PS. Mizuage was a ceremony, just because she had sex, doesn't mean she was selling her body. It was so she could become a full-Geisha.[/color][/b]

>> A ceremony with sex for money involved.
Call it whatever fancy term you like. That was prostitution.

[xYinniex]

As much as i admire how beautiful a Geisha is, but historically, Geisha's were entertainers AND high class prostitutes.

Both.

[MMM]

Originally Posted by xYinniex

As much as i admire how beautiful a Geisha is, but historically, Geisha's were entertainers AND high class prostitutes.

Both.

Please read my previous post.

Originally Posted by MMM

There remains some confusion, even within Japan, about the nature of the geisha profession. Geisha are frequently depicted as expensive prostitutes in Western popular culture. Geisha are entertainers, their purpose being to entertain their customer, be it by reciting verse, playing musical instruments, or engaging in light conversation. Geisha engagements may include flirting with men and playful innuendos; however, clients know that nothing more can be expected. In a social style that is uniquely Japanese, men are amused by the illusion of that which is never to be. Geisha do not engage in paid sex with clients.

REF: Henshall, K. G., 1999, A History of Japan, Macmillan Press LTD, London, ISBN 0­333­74940­5, page 61

[MissMisa]

I don't know a great deal about Geishas. I've never got the impression that they are prostitutes or prostituting themselves is condoned.