Their History

Geishas were generally perceived in the past as sly prostitutes because of the nature of their work, being an entertainer of men who could afford it, serving only those who could reward them with their extraordinary fees. In actuality they are levels higher than the regular whore. Their image only became darker when some of their rich patrons vie for their undivided attention and services and in the process begin their undoing.

Undoubtedly, men folk were captivated by these alabaster faced women who made them feel that the earth, sun and moon revolved around them. Young men were not spared by the allure and the mystery behind these women. There were fights even killings borne out of jealousy which involved men that were generally conceived as influential. Most of the men were powerless against a geisha’s magic, it was like opium, sweet, dizzying, a breath of something so vital one just couldn’t live without it.

Perhaps it was the cries of the women, whose husbands and sons were tangled in the skein of emotions that were brought about by their obsession was responsible for the outlawing of the geishas at some point in time purposely to boost public morals. They were gathered and ordered to stay in the pleasure quarters. It was a demotion, a reprove to be placed in the same environment as that of the lowly prostitutes.

In the pleasure quarters, they were still allowed to practice their entertainment skills however maintaining the same standards. They dwelled in teahouses where they amused their choice clients. Some patrons could not get enough of these women. They invite the geisha to take up residence with them with their family. If a geisha acquiesces, it just means that there is a small fortune involved. Geisha’s do not believe in love, they view it as foolishness.

Living in with a patron and his family does not assure the geisha of an enchanting life. They are subordinate to the patron’s wife or wives and this they have to endure until the day they die. She may be the master’s favourite from the time of her acquisition but it does not mean that she can just lie back and relax. She has to perform as always.

In 1850, they were once more given their freedom to roam the streets and live in the okiya or geisha house.

What distinguishes the geisha’s from prostitutes? Prostitutes did not necessarily require education or rigid training. They sold their bodies to anybody who cared to pay and that is all. Geishas, on the other hand were obligated to be refined in their actions, in how they conduct their business and to be knowledgeable.

Their kind of entertainment does not necessarily entail them to be promiscuous. They have a choice and they have the power to stay in control, they sell their services but not their bodies.

It is a fact that, geisha were once children of financially troubled parents who had to sell their daughters to teahouses. Through time and the mastery of their skill, it could be said that these women who were once abhorred by society and blamed by their government for downgrading people’s values are the ones who carried on with the tradition that is entirely Japanese. They have maintained decency in the middle of a grey area in Japanese moral code. That in their training, the otherwise fading culture has been vibrantly passed on.

Presently they are the paragons of supreme femininity and they embody refined culture. They have raised their standards so much so that a time came when one did not need to be poor or forced to become a geisha. Now, it has become a dream, an ambition to several Japanese lasses who choose to become one of them.