Geisha Symbolism

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Recommended: Cultural and economic changes in the Edo period

Grace Smith
Art History 382: Art and Architecture of Asia
Art Motifs and Symbolism in Japan

The kimono, obi, and the accessories used with kimono were a crucial part of Japan’s day-to-day life in the Edo Period, and still remaining as Japan’s national dress to present day. The kimono was worn by commoners and aristocrats alike, yet geisha were the ones who made wearing the kimono a skill and an art form. Geisha are a peculiar group of women in Japanese history, considering themselves the entertainers of wealthy patrons. “It is a game we all agree to play. The geisha knows it is a game, and the client knows it is a game. We are buying and selling dreams. Clients come here to forget their daily life. So we don’t say anything that is not part of their dream. We drink, and if the client wants us to dance, we dance, and if he wants us to sing, we sing. And we speak of things that have nothing to do with wives (Cobb)”.
To understand the kimono and the obi, one must first learn to understand the person wearing it. Unlicensed prostitution was on a rise outside of the walls in Japan’s Edo Period due to a growing cash economy. Covert prostitution called sancha-joro was popular in public bathhouses. At this time in society, a woman’s place was either in the home through marriage or the brothel. Young women called odoriko (dancing girls) were not originally prostitutes. The families of these girls trained them in dance and other accomplishments, hoping to have the settle as concubines in well-off families. Over time, though, families depended more and more on selling the girls’ bodies. Illegal prostitutes were periodically rounded up and thrown into licensed quarters, such as Yoshiwara. Odoriko continued to practice performing arts, even th...

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Guth, Christine. Art Of Edo Japan. New York: Calmann & King, Ltd, 1996. Print.
Munsterberg, Hugo. The Arts of Japan. Rutland, Vermont: Charles E. Tuttle Company, 1957. Print.
Museum, Peabody Essex. Geisha: Beyond the Painted Smile. George Braziller, Inc, 2004. Print.
Noma, Seiroku. Japanese Sense of Beauty. Asahi Shimbun Publishing Co., 1963. Print.
"Overview and History." Rolling Thunder: Your Total Taiko Resource. © 2014 Rolling Thunder - The Total Taiko Resource. Web. 13 Apr 2014. .
Rimmer, J. Thomas. Since Meiji, Perspectives on the Japanese Visual Arts. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 2012. Print.
Tsuda, Noritake. Handbook of Japanese Art. George Allen & Unwin Ltd, 1937. Print.

Obi, 20th Century, Japan at Brunnier Art Museum

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