Geisha
| Geisha | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Japanese name | |||||
| Kanji | 芸者 | ||||
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Geisha is a traditional Japanese female entertainer, whose skills include performing various arts. They usually began their training at a very young age. They learn the serving tea ceremony, conversation, literature and poetry, playing traditional instruments and dancing, among other skills.
Geisha always wear kimono and most of them live in traditional geisha houses called okiya. At present there are just a few.
The movie My Geisha (1962 - Director: Jack Cardiff, Starring: Shirley MacLaine, Yves Montand, Yoko Tani, Tatsu Saito and Edward G. Robinson) was filmed in Japan.
Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden, published in 1997, is the fictional true confessions of one of Japan's most celebrated geisha (Mineko Iwasaki).
Geisha have their roots in female entertainers such as the Saburuko of the 7th century and the Shirabyoshi, who emerged around the early 13th century. They would perform for the nobility and some even became concubines to the emperor... But like their male counterpart the samurai, the geisha and her world continue to fascinate people around the world as part of their image of a mysterious and timeless Japan. [1]
Pro-prostitution academics have attempted to reinterpret the role of the geisha as a "high-class" prostitute, in direct conflict with the historical evidence, in order to justify legalizing vice.
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