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Geisha are traditional female Japanese entertainers and social companions. Their training, performances, and appearance follow a tradition that goes back hundreds of years, and follow very elaborate rules and customs. The Japanese tea ceremony is a case in point. There is a right way, and many wrongs ways to do it, and each aspect of the setting, utensils, materials, and steps have a particular meaning.
Just wearing the traditional Japanese kimono takes dozens of steps! Here’s how to do it (instructions scroll to the right… way to the right).
Besides wrangling with a kimono, maiko, or apprentice geisha, must wear ornate hairstyles with wax and accessories that may add six pounds to the weight of her head! Geisha stylist Tetsuo Ishihara tells us about maikos who must sleep propped on a wooden pillow to preserve a hairstyle that must last a week. Many maiko styles are displayed each year at Kushi-matsuri (the comb festival) in Kyoto.
It doesn’t get any easier to look the part, after the jump.
Geisha makeup takes a big chunk of time and material. Here’s a primer from a Japanese makeup website, just in case you want to try it.
Traditional geta sandals complete a kimono ensemble. Maiko wear a particularly tall type of geta sandals, called okobo.
You can see photos of the finished product in these two galleries of geisha photography by Frantisek Staud.
Compared to what geishas go through to be well-dressed, these modern fashionistas found at Japanese Fashion probably find it easy to look their best.
That’s only how to get the look of a geisha. They must also learn etiquette and performing arts. Learn more about modern geisha at Immortal Geisha.
Comments (15)
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I really don’t see any beaty in gheishas. Their pale appearance arouses fear.
posted by Antilos on 4-12-2007 at 4:00 pm
Let us count the seconds it would take before I would fall over in those shoes. One… One.
posted by Pointy-Hatted Geek on 4-12-2007 at 5:10 pm
hello.Can you tell me from where can I buy a girl japanese kimono in Romania?If there aren`t in Romania,from where can I buy it!Please tell me a good website adress,Thanks.
posted by Madena on 9-9-2007 at 4:08 am
I find Geishas the most prettyest humans in the whole world… I would like to be one, allso. Is it true, that when your 15, you can stop school and go to a Geisha school? I want to go! I’ve even learned how to speak Japanese!
posted by Envy on 9-14-2007 at 4:47 pm
Envy, Maybe you have learned to speak Japanese, but how about also learning to write English before you quit school?
posted by Annette on 11-16-2007 at 9:52 am
The art of Geisha is fascinating. It is an art practiced for centuries. In my opinion the artists are a treasure to be admired and revered for their dedication and discipline.
posted by jen on 11-16-2007 at 9:52 am
That’s harsh Annette. Perhaps English isn’t Envy’s first language either.
posted by Lola on 11-17-2007 at 12:23 am
Lola, you are quite right about not assuming certain things, like nationality. However, in my experience, it is mainly native speakers of English that make the “your”, “you’re” (and other homonym-) mistakes.
posted by Daniela on 11-20-2007 at 7:01 pm
geisha’s are so beautiful
i am 1/4 japanese and look up to geisha’s.
my grandmother tells me about them all the time.
she has a kimono from a long time ago and its gorgeous.
posted by emily on 12-13-2007 at 9:55 pm
#5 Annette, LOL.
#7 Lola, Daniela (#8) is right. I’ve looked at the writing of middle school aged students enough to know that only a twelve to thirteen-year-old American girl could have written that sentence. But if you take a look at #3, you can clearly see by her word structure that English is not the first language.
In other news, the novel Miss One Thousand Spring Blossoms by John Ball is an amazing book. It tells the story of an awkward, dorky, 1960s business man who goes to Japan and falls in love with a geisha, not knowing what a geisha is. Best book ever! But it’s OOP. Half.com it.
posted by Sarah on 12-28-2007 at 1:52 pm
Nice random Gosu rori. I have been studying geiko and maiko for years, and it is true, being a part of this historical lifestyle is not simple, but it is rewarding. Many people make the mistake between maiko and geiko with coutesans, and this is the most disappointing factor.
Gaiko and maiko live to entertain socially, and everything about them literally screams ‘art’. Such beautiful (and heavy) clothing. I have a couple hikizuri (a type of kimono worn by geisha) that was given to me by a relative whos grandmother was once part of that anceint world.
I have been to okiya in hanamachi, and there really is a difference between Gion and Hanamachi. I like Hanamachi more, and I am more familiar with the okiya there.
posted by Rogue on 1-19-2008 at 5:47 pm
another good book to read is “Memoirs of a Geshia” by Auther Golden, now THAT is a REALLY good book!!!!!!!!!!!
posted by Tash on 2-10-2008 at 1:14 am
For my art GCSE I have chose to study Japan. After studying many Japanese artists I decided to do some research on the “Geisha”- i have been truly inspired, they are very elegent and beautiful. They have made my art exam worthwhile!
posted by Karen on 3-22-2008 at 3:02 pm
lola lololololola… thats enough i really like your name though… and i also like geisha’s… i think i have a geisha fetish… i mean who wouldnt like to put white all over their face and be slaves to men… no seriously… i would… (insert chopsticks here.)
posted by toby on 5-19-2008 at 8:49 pm
Anybody aware of a good Geisha School in Japan with trainings in Englsih ? Thanks
posted by miguel on 8-15-2009 at 4:33 am