Geisha: High-class prostitute or Artist?

       Oftentimes, when I ask a person their opinion of what a geisha is, it feels like what I'm asking is a taboo. Their faces shrug a bit, and suddenly they give me this look, like telling me “why do you ask me this? Do you really want me to say it?” until someone comes along and actually answers that she's a high-class prostitute. But little do they know, that the mistaken concept they have of the geisha is that of another kind of entertainer, the oiran, who no one really knows about; also, the mizuage and the American Occupation after World War II were the key factors that contributed to the misconception that the geisha is a prostitute. Before laying out my stand regarding as to why not the geisha is a prostitute, it is important that things are made clear and explain the differences between these professions.

       First, let's explain what the oiran is. The word “oiran” is composed of two kanji ideograms: “flower” and “leader”. The oiran in many ways are the predecessors of the geisha and at the same time, they are  nothing like them; "they knew who and what they were and turned wanton provocation into an art." (Richie, 2002) The oiran were “woman of pleasure” because they also performed the arts of dance, music, poetry, and calligraphy to entertain their clients, because of this, they were not considered merely prostitutes. Since they did sell their bodies, their obi1 is tied to the front so it would be easier for them to take off their kimono several times a day. Among other reasons, only oiran and yûjo2 would tie their obi to the front for these two are the only ones that sold sex. The oiran tradition died around 1750, when the geisha became popular.

       “Geisha”, on the other hand, is composed of two kanji ideograms: “art” and “ doer (doing that work)”. As Tiefenbrun explains, the first female geisha of the l750s were not like courtesans because they were not bound by tradition or formality, and could take sexual partners or lovers if it pleased them. One good example as to why geisha were not prostitutes, is that by l779 the geishas were taking business away from the brothels, so rules of conduct were established to distinguish the geisha from the courtesans and prostitutes and to ensure that the geisha did not steal their customers. The rules were as follows:
       1) Geisha were to be recruited from the less beautiful women. 

       2) They had to wear a severe kimono and a very simple hairstyle.
       3) They were to work in twos or threes and never be alone in order to discourage propositioning of sex.
       4) They were not to sit too close to guests.
       5) If a geisha was found to contravene the regulations, she was liable to lose her license for several days or permanently.
       If a geisha chose to enter into a sexual relationship with a client, that was legally classified as “misconduct” and not “prostitution”. Such activities were the free choice of the geisha. Prostitution was never something geisha were forced to do. (Tiefenbrun, 2003) 

Also, Tiefenbrun gives us a forceful argument that the geisha were legally not recognized as prostitutes:this event happened in 1841 the government passed a series of edict in order to remedy the problem of public morality.  Several thousands of prostitutes and geisha were rounded up from the unlicensed districts and dumped into Yoshiwara, Edo's red-light district. In contrast to the prostitutes, geisha were allowed to return to their work so long as they promised to restrict their activities to music and dance. (Tiefenbrun, 2003) It is wise to mention that the geisha would always tie their obi on their back and it was very hard for a geisha to untie her obi on her own. When a geisha is dressing up, at least two people are required to help her dress.

       Thirdly, we have the geisha trainee or the maiko. The word “maiko” is composed of two kanji ideograms: “dance” and “girl”.  Maiko would begin their training since they were children. They would help maintain the okiya3 doing severe chores and eventually taking dancing, music and singing lessons. When she was of the appropriate age, she would be taken under the wing of a senior geisha (or big sister) and would accompany her to parties. Normally teenagers, the maiko would dress flamboyantly, compared to the geisha, and would maintain a pure girl and childlike image in hairstyle, make-up, clothing, (her neck collar was red, and her geisha counterpart wore her neck collar white). Maiko are the ones who use the think white make-up; when someone thinks of "geisha" and the white face comes to mind, it's really the maiko they're thinking about. Geisha only wear the white make-up on special occasions.

   

       Now that we know the differences between these professions, we can safely discuss why a geisha is not a high-class prostitute, or a prostitute alone, but a rather flirty entertainer. The first key that plays a huge role in this misconception, is the argument that geishas sell their virginity to the highest bidder. This idea has been brought to us by recent movies and books, but to say this is true, is totally unfair and erroneous; it would be like affirming that we are all prostitutes for selling ourselves when attending a job interview, or that we support prostitution by paying teachers for their time and presence in order to educate.

       "The word 'mizuage' is a term used to describe a woman's first sexual experience." (Dalby, 2000) It was a transformation from girl to woman and the male “perpetrator” was just a man who  had turned a girl into a woman. It was not embarrassing at all, it was normal. What was embarrassing about it, was to delay it. It marked a transition from maiko to geisha, from girl to woman and it was a requirement for the change of collar; it was a sign of maturity. A virgin geisha would be as ridiculous as  a virgin wife. The okiya had already invested a large sum of money in the girl, from her purchase (if she was recruited), education, housing, clothing, and so on, the mizuage was the first step to recover from that initial investment. The payment was not made to deflower the girl, but the cover the cost of her debut. (Downer, 2004)

       Nowadays, maiko and geisha chose their boyfriends and clients when they feel ready; there were even maiko who became geisha with their virginity intact. (Dalby, 2000) It was against the law to force a girl with a patron if she did not want to, but in that time, the girl's opinion was not taken into consideration and retiring before the mizuage was required was a solution that simply did not exist. The money the patrons payed for mizuage was used in celebrations around the community. Some geisha even claimed that, with this that money,  they could afford such meals that someone outside the geisha communities could seldom afford. (Downer, 2004) Going through this experience, was not a colorful ritual like it is now: it meant to mature and become and adult in the whole sense of the word. After the maiko went trough her mizuage, her clothing would change: they would leave those childish attires and dress like a geisha; more sophisticated, toned down and mature. This was the most transparent sign of their transformation.

        So we can see, that the claim of “geisha selling their virginity to the highest bidder” is false. Geisha did not sell their bodies; the maiko, on the other hand, never saw this as prostitution, it was something that it was even looked forward to; but movies and books who have to exaggerate certain scenes or acts to add more dramatic effects: to add more feeling to the Asian fairy tale they are narrating. We must not believe everything we see on TV or that is clearly marked as fiction.

       The second argument that claimed geisha are prostitutes, is that in fact, geisha sold their bodies to American soldiers. Let's look at the context of that day and age. The country was nothing more than rubble thanks to the two atomic bombs that struck the country. Most of the geisha were forced to leave their luxurious lifestyle and went from spoiled princesses to humble factory workers if they wanted to survive. However, during the American Occupation in Japan, prostitutes were more clever: they disguised themselves as geisha, claimed to be geisha and aimed to have some of their prestige by calling themselves authentic geisha. By servicing the GIs almost exclusively, the American soldiers called them “Geesha girls”; a mispronunciation. (Prasso, 2005) Americans, unfamiliar with the Japanese culture, could not tell the difference between legitimate geisha and these costumed prostitutes. Eventually, the term "geisha girl" became a general word for any female Japanese prostitute, "kimonoed" artists; it even included bar hostesses and streetwalkers. Geisha girls are speculated by researchers to be largely responsible for the continuing misconception in the West that all geisha engaged in prostitution.

       A prostitute is someone who is hired specifically for sex and we can clearly see that the geisha were not prostitutes; their job was to entertain men. They chose to have affairs if they felt like it, just like in any other kind of profession.  They couldn't even take off their kimono because her obi was tied in the back. Oiran, on the other hand, did sell their bodies and entertained customers. Maiko, however, did have it harder, since their rite of passage and requirements to become geisha her a bit more extreme; however, even they kind of looked forward to it; it was a painful yet necessary thing to go through. It was hard at first, but then they eventually celebrated it.  (Downer, 2004). Television and novels have greatly contributed to the misconception that geisha and maiko were forced to sell their bodies and that they lived unhappy lives which couldn't be further than the truth itself: these women were cunning and charming; they know how to handle men by boosting their ego. It was their job to make them actually believe that it was them who were in control. But it were the prostitutes who, disguised as geisha, made Americans believe (and even Japanese today do not know exactly what geisha do) that they were not only geisha, but prostitutes.

1. The “belt” used to tie the entire kimono and hold it in place. It is about 7 meters long.

2. Prostitute.

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