What Makes Geishas Unique

The geishas of Japan have a very distinctive yet unique feature that draws forth the attention of many people from all over the world, especially in the world of art. Even though they are humans, they are considered as a very prized form of art. The definition of geisha is an artistic person (Rowthorn 2011). They are considered as a masterpiece due to their gorgeous features that includes a variety of hairstyles, each with their own meaning and use and the feature that jumps out most is their makeup. Despite their origin in ancient Japan as female servants and prostitutes (DeMello 2012), geishas have turned into a prized possession with their true beauty and performance in the art world. Another thing that makes geishas very unique are the
various stages that a female must go through in order to fully become a geisha. Time, hard work, patience and dedication are the factors that makes a geisha one of their kind. Besides their dark history and dedication that they installed into themselves to becoming a true geisha, their modifications, which includes their makeup and hairstyles, makes them stand out from the rest of the crowd, drawing the attention of many people. The origin of the geishas dated back in the 600 A.D. in Kyoto, Japan (Gallagher 2003). There were mixed meanings of geishas back in those times because they were considered to be either prostitutes (lower class) or entertainers (higher class) (Schliesinger 2015). They started off in the Heian period as noble women. In the Heian period, the city of Kyoto was considered to be “the graceful capital of a country at piece” (Gallagher 2003). The true origin of the prostitute geisha came around the 1600-1075s where pleasure quarters became popular (Gallagher 2003). Geishas at the time became sexual targets for men. This was unlawful for these women and many precautions were put in place, however nothing worked to fix this issue. Later on, they found these girls to be dancing girls. These girls were taught to dance in order to give themselves to a more wealthy family and soon after, these girls were looked as if they were selling their bodies (Gallagher 2003). In the more modern time, these girls have evolved into being entertainers. Currently, between the geishas and the actual prostitutes, they are similar looking, in make-up and clothing. In order to notice the differences, one must look at the obi, or the sasha on the dress of these women. “Geishas’s tie their obi in the back and prostitutes tie it in the front” (Knight 2008).
The geishas get their training early in life. Back in the days, the girls had no choice as to whether they want to be a geisha or not because it was forced onto them (Gallagher 2003). According to Gallagher, in the present time, becoming a geisha is based on the individual’s choice and it’s more prominent if a female came from a geisha mother.
The first stage of becoming a geisha is training to be a shikomi.
This stage is similar to being a servant because the shikomi is the one who usually does the house work (Knight 2008). This is usually the youngest or newest girls. In this stage, these girls are also taught about what geishas do, how they speak, and how they dress (Knight 2008). After knowing the simple details of being a geisha, the girls then move onto the next stage, being a minarai, also known as maiko. Minarai means “learning by watching” and they usually follow the most advance geisha known as the one-san, or the older sister (“Geisha Culture,” 2015). At this stage, the minarai is closest to being the true geisha as she gets all of her training from the older sister. The last stage is the one-san, which means the older sister. In this stage, they are the teachers to the younger girls who are becoming a true geisha. “The one-san teaches the maiko (minarai) how to be a true geisha, tea ceremony, flower arrangement, calligraphy, playing the shamisen (a three string instrument), dancing, conversation, and she will help the minari pick a new professional name” (Knight 2008). The onee-san is the true geisha who is seen preforming at all the big events and doing all the important
roles.
One of the artistic feature of the geisha is their makeup, which stands out the most. This process can be very time consuming, like any other make-up applications. To start, a wax or oil, called “bintsuke-abura” (Sleeping Samurai 2014) is used to apply all over the area parts that will later be covered in white make-up. The bintsuke-abura is a substance that allows the white paint to stick longer on a geisha’s body (Sleeping Samurai 2014). Next, a white paste like paint is applied from the chest to the head. In the Heian era (794-1185 A.C.), women used rice powder as the white base to their makeup (“The geisha’s make-up, origins and techniques in the geisha make-up art,” 2012). In the past, another type of white make-up that was used to apply to the skin had lead in it, this happened in the end of the Meiji Era (Sleeping Samurai 2014). As one could imagine, lead is a poisonous substance that would cause some skin problems, if it was used often. In this case, the geishas wear make-up most of the time because it is an important piece to their style. The white makeup only covers the visible part of the geisha’s upper body. One significant thing about the white make-up is how it is applied on the back of their necks. This part of the body is called the nape or komata and this part of the body symbolizes sexual attraction (Gallagher 2003). The white paint will be applied around the nape in the shape of the letter W or V, depending on how a person looks at it. The white paint is also painted so that a line of natural skin shows around the hairline. This creates a look that would appear as if they were wearing a mask (Knight 2008).
Next, they apply make-up to their eyebrows. In doing so, they would have to be very careful because if they mess up, they will also mess up the white paint underneath (“The geisha’s