Tweet
To be honest, I always thought Geisha to be sex workers. I was wrong. Some of them does that but generally, they are entertainers. I wouldn't blame others if they also though they're the same with the high class sex workers in Japan because they seem to have similarity with how they look and how they are booked. You can't really be entertained by Geisha unless you book them through their offices. You can't also see a geisha face to face unless unless you talk to their managers. And not only that, you can't even communicate with their offices if you do not have connections to them.
-
-
The reason why geishas were misconstrued as prostitutes was because of the Western culture's interaction with another group of Japanese courtesans called the Oiran. But in truth it wasn't really totally wrong. The first woman who called herself a geisha was a prostitute. There were already geishas before her but they were men. Men? Yes, men. The original geishas were men and they were the ones entertaining the guests who were waiting to watch the oiran perform. The oirans are also Japanese courtesans who wore more flamboyant costumes (the highest ranked oiran wore clothes that weighed 20kg) and worked to attract the attention of guests. Geishas wore more modest clothing and didn't have elaborate ornaments on their hair or tall slippers called geta just like the oiran. This was just a part of the history of entertainment and prostitution in Japan. Things changed throughout the course of history especially the perceptions of people with groups like the geishas.
Comment