We are often quick to judge the unknown, even before we obtain more knowledge about it. We might see a caterpillar and fail to see its potential as a magnificent butterfly in the future. Similarly, we judge groups of people and misinterpret their occupation. Geishas are a group that has been widely misjudged for a long time. Often, people fail to see, or fail to understand the deeper meaning behind Geishas. They fail to realize that their occupation goes beyond simply looks. Yet despite these misconceptions Geishas still form an important part of Japanese society and history. They have evolved from entertainers, to keepers of a rich tradition and have even created a culture of their own. In order to fully understand the world of geishas, one must first learn about the …show more content…
The answer can be found within their own title, gei is kanji for art, while sha is a person who does, thus creating the word Geisha which translates to Artist (Barton, 2016). Unfortunately, their title was not enough to prevent misconceptions about their occupation from arising. Since the beginning outside of the pleasure quarters Geisha were viewed as expensive prostitutes, a view that stemmed from the fact that Geisha entertained guests at the pleasure quarters while they awaited the arrival of the Orian. An Orian was a “sophisticated courtesan,” however, they were often confused for Geisha (Barton, 2016). Unlike courtesans, Geisha were women who took up lessons in many forms of the arts, including dance, singing, music, and much more (Lies, 2008). Nevertheless, that did not mean that everyone viewed them as prostitutes. In fact, a woman named Kikuya is known for having given up life as a prostitute and dedicating herself entirely to singing and playing shamisen, had great success after declaring herself a Geisha (Barton, 2018). Not all Geisha entered the profession by choice, some of them were sold into Geisha houses, by their families who were too poor to care for
Much of what is considered modern Japan has been fundamentally shaped by its involvement in various wars throughout history. In particular, the events of World War II led to radical changes in Japanese society, both politically and socially. While much focus has been placed on the broad, overarching impacts of war on Japan, it is through careful inspection of literature and art that we can understand war’s impact on the lives of everyday people. The Go Masters, the first collaborative film between China and Japan post-WWII, and “Turtleback Tombs,” a short story by Okinawan author Oshiro Tatsuhiro, both give insight to how war can fundamentally change how a place is perceived, on both an abstract and concrete level.
Joseph Conlans “State of War; The Violent Order of Fourteenth Century Japan” is an depth look at Japans emerging warrior class during a time period of constant warfare in Medieval Japan. His work however doesn’t revolve around the re-fabrication and in-depth analysis of battles sieged like many contemporary examinations of wars and battles won and lost. Instead the author vies to navigate the reader on journey into the warrior class’s lives and how they evolved through a statistical analysis of records. This illustrates how warfare changed and transformed with the constant evolving of the Samurai, but it also includes how their actions affected their Political environment as well as the society in which they dwelled from the bottom up. Through his survey of records and documents, Conlan is able to give readers a compelling look into the Warrior class and at times shatters in the process many of the pre-conceived general notions that one may hold about this ancient class of professional warriors. Many of the notions & common misconceptions debunked in this scholarly piece include the idea that the Samurai was a male only fraternity, reserved for those of impeccable candor and loyalty. When truth be known, woman and young men (boys) were also trained in the art of war and thus were as likely to be found on the battle fields as men when times were tough and solider numbers were depleted. Further, another misconception (Generally thought to be caused by the popular and well known; “The Bushido Code: The Eight Virtues of the Samurai”) of the warrior class is that all of these men were truly Samurai which translated to “one who serves” when really, loyalty for the warrior class as Conlan points out only went as far as ones right to ...
In Arthur Golden’s Memoirs of a Geisha, Sayuri demonstrates that when the forces of fate and free will come into collision, the lack of determination to grasp control of one’s life will lead to a
Akira Kurosaw’s Seven Samurai is a film that encompasses various ideologies in order to allow the audience to understand the lives of Japanese people during the 1600’s. The film delves deep in social issues of the roles of the people within the society, the expectations as well as the obligations within the respected castes and elements within groups of ; suffering, working together, protecting family and working for the better good of the community.
Musui’s Story is the exciting tale of a low class samurai’s life towards the end of the Tokugawa era. Although one would normally imagine a samurai to be a noble illustrious figure, Musui’s Story portrays the rather ignominious life of an unemployed samurai. Nonetheless, this primary account demonstrates the tenacity of samurai values and privileges present at the end of the Tokugawa shogunate. The social status of samurai had been elevated to such a state that even someone like Musui was easily able to gain influence in everyday affairs with his privileges. Not only that, but he had retained his values as a warrior and still kept great pride for his arts in weaponry.
Throughout history artists have used art as a means to reflect the on goings of the society surrounding them. Many times, novels serve as primary sources in the future for students to reflect on past history. Students can successfully use novels as a source of understanding past events. Different sentiments and points of views within novels serve as the information one may use to reflect on these events. Natsume Soseki’s novel Kokoro successfully encapsulates much of what has been discussed in class, parallels with the events in Japan at the time the novel takes place, and serves as a social commentary to describe these events in Japan at the time of the Mejeii Restoration and beyond. Therefore, Kokoro successfully serves as a primary source students may use to enable them to understand institutions like conflicting views Whites by the Japanese, the role of women, and the population’s analysis of the Emperor.
Ogawa, D. (1993) The Japanese of Los Angeles. Journal of Asian and African Studies, v19, pp.142-3.
Geishas, which translate to artist, were skilled hostesses and entertainers. They were educated to have a knowledge of many artistic traditions. Geishas represented the charm and sophistication of high-class women and were expensive to purchase. These women were easily identifiable as they wore heavy, white makeup with read accents around the lips, eyes, and
The geisha is certainly an exotic creature even today, but the reality of the geisha's position in modern Japanese society is far different from what it was in the 19th and 18th centuries, when geishas numbered in the tens of thousands and played an integral role in Japanese culture. Today, true geishas are rare and the geisha experience is the privilege of a wealthy few, with the price of s dinner party ranging upwards of five hundred dollars for the evening. On the other hand, the geisha is not an "ancient" Japanese tradition at all, but a relatively late refinement of the licensed prostitution that developed in the Yoshiwara ...
The desire to explain the unknown is deeply rooted in the make-up of humanity. What one does not know evinces fear, but also opens a realm of endless possibility that can be manipulated and explained through individual and societal understandings of the truth. Throughout time the human understanding of the truism and science has changed much like the evolution of existence in terms of thresholds. The beauty of this fact is relevant when exploring the cognizance of the universe through the lens of Japanese myth. The culture of the mythology is an essence entwined with religion, which makes for a spiritual and grounded connection to the land and it’s properties. The Buddhist and Shinto religion combined form an inherent connection to time and space in which the Japanese people honor, reference, and mold their knowledge of history. The myths of Japan are a reflection of not only religious terminology, but also the Gods in which the people pray to and worship in temples and shrines. The teachings of Buddha and living within the means of inviolability are held up through myth and a great respect for nature is vital to the infrastructure of the rich culture and linguistic aspects of the stories. The vast domain of stories braided with religion paints a unique picture of origin and meaning that can be explored and organized into thresholds one through eight plus the future.
Sugita Kojo of Tayama Katai’s “The Girl Watcher” (1907) and the chair maker in Edogawa Rampo’s “The Human Chair” (1925) react to new ways of life in a similar, vulgar manner. Both stories include aspects of society new to that time: Trains and chairs, respectively. These pieces from the Meiji & Taisho period, a period where stories began to express the character’s thoughts, depict the importance of understanding novel and foreign aspects of daily life by showing how these modern ways of living may be used inappropriately.
What is a geisha? Translated into English the word Geisha literally means "arts person" or the "one trained in arts" which is exactly what Geishas are. When some people think about Geishas they assume they are prostitutes when in reality, they are performers. Geishas are taught by their elders on entertainment ways such as: ways of dancing, playing an instrument, and how to make pottery. In Japan some prostitutes have called themselves Geishas in order to get themselves more "customers." One way that is easy to distinguish which one is which is by looking at their obi over their kimono, Geishas tie theirs in the back and Japanese prostitutes tie it in the front. Often the prostitutes were called "Geisha girls" or "Panpan girls." Becoming a Geisha isn’t as easy as it sounds. You have to go through extensive training to get everything to look beautiful and perfect. Usually to become a geisha, a girl must find and be accepted into an okiya, and the mother of the house (okasan) must agree to pay for her training. Typically it takes about 6 years at a kaburenjo to become a Geisha. The six years are spent studying the arts of entertainment, such as: music, dance, tea ceremony, language, and hosting. During the years the Geisha will live in the okiya she has bee...
The geisha of Japan were more than entertainers they were a part of the bigger picture of the Japanese society from the early 1600s to today, their role as an entertainer for men was respected at a point in which man that had time with geisha were praised and they were even respected by the wives of the clients. One of the most significant historical contexts of geisha in Japanese society is the empowerment of women, they were the only women in the history to create a set of norms and social tradition for themselves, and the group of women to have control of men. Geisha are the representation of Japanese tradition and
This book depicts how Japanese behaved both before and after the World War II. In this book, it describes how Japanese military slaves (a.k.a. comfort women) was made, what motivated Japan to do these abuses.
Shan-Loong, M. L. (2000, March 14). Tradition & Change –. Gender Roles in Japan. Retrieved