Geisha
The word Geisha in English means 'art person': geisha are female professional entertainers who perform traditional Japanese arts at banquets or teahouses, highly-trained performers whose principal function is to create a lively, civilized atmosphere at the kind of male gatherings which, these day, can only be afforded by the very rich or well-connected. The manager of the teahouse, the okasan, does not usually allow new customers unless they have been properly introduced. Originally, geisha were more or less to the Gion area of Kyoto and Tokyo.
The numbers of practicing geisha are on the decline, as much thanks to the demands of modern compulsory education as to cheap alternatives like bar hostesses. The apprentice geisha called a maiko. Traditional training begins as young as seven, when the trainee becomes attached to geisha house where she may also live. Over the years, she studies classical dancing, the playing of traditional instruments like the shamisen, and the arts of the kimono, the tea ceremony, flower arranging and calligraphy. Only a few of the best among them will become geisha many years later after passing stringent test in many different areas. Geisha are also expert conversationalists: jokes, teasing banter, and the performance of little skits are as much a part of the job as more formal accomplishments and the serving of food and drink.
Clothing Geisha and amiko wear traditional silk kimono and wooden geta colgs. Metallic accessories adorn their hair, in a high-sculpted arrangement. A red stripe is painted down the back of their neck and, the more of the neck is exposed, them ore risqué the kimono is. Geisha tend to wear more subdued colours for their kimono which has shorter sleeves while the maiko's kimono is bright with draped sleeves. The kimono is bound with wide, thick silk belt called an obi which can be tied in many different and intricate ways.
The future of Geisha In Japan today there are less than 1000 geisha. With the stringent lifestyle and emphasis on traditional arts, few young girls are willing or able to meet the standards of professional geisha. Nonetheless, the geisha play a valuable role in preserving Japanese culture and history.