Geishas are iconic characters from Japanese culture that we mistakenly tend to associate with prostitution. However, though there have been times throughout history when this link has been a fact, their tradition goes beyond that. From their origins as geisha men to their current status as tourist attractions, geishas have gone through lots of changes throughout history. However, there’s something about their link to tradition and culture that lives on, despite the fact that the number of geishas today has decreased significantly.
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The traditional profession of geishas reached its peak in the nineteenth century, and then in the twentieth, they lost it all. These photographs show that process, and also the cultural importance they had in Japanese society.
1906
But first things first, who were these women and how did they acquire such an important role in Japan? The word geisha literally translates to “artist” or “woman of art” (geiko). Their origins can be traced back to the 600s to the Saburuko, who were high-class entertainment girls trained in music, dancing, and poetry to match their clients’ “cultivated” tastes. However, it was also during this century that the first actual geishas appeared.
1965
1890s
These were male dancers, musicians, and singers who entertained men at the famous Oiran brothels. The Oiran were high-class prostitutes who lived in Japan’s most notorious red districts. Since prostitution was legal in Japan until 1908, the profession was highly protected and endorsed as one of the most important circles to make business. Later on, geishas would take their place.
1955
During the eighteenth century, women started joining the male geishas in their work as entertainers at these houses. They were something like the opening show for men while they waited for their Oiran. Now, though many geishas did engage in prostitution, it was actually reason for punishment. The Oiran were at the top of the “entertainment” business and, to protect them, Geishas were forbidden to sell sex at these so-called pleasure quarters. Not only that, they also had to remain in their homes without the freedom to go out freely whenever they wanted. This became a crucial part of their mysterious essence, as secluded and private women who only lived to entertain these influential men.
1945
Most geishas were actually poor girls from the countryside whose parents had to sell to the Okiyas (the geisha house) to survive. They were accepted from the age of six and trained by the Okaa-san (mother). There’s a misconception that only really beautiful girls were accepted to the Okiyas, but actually, the value of a geisha didn’t really lie in their physical beauty, but their artistic talents and skills. So, when they were accepted, the money spent on them, along with the money spent on their education and training, would become almost a lifetime debt they would have to pay with hard work.
1955
1886
By the nineteenth century, geishas ruled the entertainment industry, so to speak, in Japan. The most important business deals were made at the most influential Okiyas, and geishas could aspire to positions of power once they found a dana (a sort of protector). However, their fame would also spell their end, since many Oiran and courtesans who had lost their high status started copying the geisha style and arts to lure new clients.
Oiran girls, 1917
1890s
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With the turn of the century, Japan got more and more involved in International conflicts, and the popularization of geishas as women of pleasure began to spread throughout the world. But it was perhaps during and after WWII when the craze for geishas began, and then, their decline was imminent. The sudden arrival of thousands and thousands of American soldiers reduced the geisha tradition to nothing but mere prostitution.
Early 20th century
Early 20th century
By 1945, the Axis was basically defeated by the Allies. With that defeat, came hunger and devastation to civilians, and women all over Japan, including many geishas, had to resort to the most humiliating jobs to get something to eat. The Oiran who had been copying the geisha tradition soon saw a great income opportunity with these new arrivals eager to make the most of these “exotic” lands.
1914
Early 20th century
While the Oiran where profiting from the craze for “Geesha girls” (as American soldiers called them), many real geishas closed their Okiyas and looked for regular jobs at factories and in the countryside. Contrary to what it might seem, the Oiran were actually praised and supported by the female population, mainly because their job was also seen as a sacrifice for other women. Since soldiers were truly entertained with them, massive rapes of civilian women and girls were avoided.
1914
Early 20th century
After the occupation that lasted from 1945 to 1952, the geisha profession started to flourish once again, though not with the intensity and the social and cultural importance they once had. It’s estimated that from about eighty thousand geishas working during the nineteenth century, only a few hundreds remain today.
Early 20th century
Of course, many of the customs have changed. Geishas nowadays have normal lives, they can get married, have a family, study, and work wherever they want. They just went back to their origins of entertaining, and while the business is low and not that profitable, most of these women do it for the love for the craft and to preserve the tradition.
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