Geisha reflection post

Yukina moved from northern Japan to Koyoto in order to follow dream of being a geisha. Before this, the young woman had never lived in a big city; this was also the first time she lived away from home. I was shocked that it was her first time away from home and that she was willing to quit school in order to take chance at becoming a geisha. I was also surprised that she aspired to be a geisha based upon a woman she had seen on television. She lives in geisha house in the older district of Koyoto. At the beginning of the process, Yukina looks forward to a long time before she can meet customers; she must also and respect the elder girls of the house by doing choirs and other things for the girls. It was interesting to learn how the hierarchy exists and functions within the geisha house. Maiko is the term describing a trainee geisha; these trainees endure four months of no contact with family and friends, which seems a harsh way to prove one’s dedication to a house. Furthermore, I found it fascinating that there is designated big sister for the trainee in order to help and mentor them which shows the sempai to kohai relationship in this part of Japanese society. Yukina must learn how to serve tea and all the small things that go along with that art form of being a geisha. I was surprised at the depth of rules and idea of what is graceful during the serving of tea. Although many Japanese had never met a maiko or understand what it means to be a member of this profession, the image of the geishas is tainted by old traditions of selling virginity.

If she passes the test of becoming a geisha, she will be paying back her house for her training for the first 5 years. She is given a new name for her work and new lifestyle; Yukina is given the name of Kikuyu; she didn't have any say in her name as her housemother picked it out for her.  Moving away has made her distant with her own real sister, who is jealous of her ability to go out and try to accomplish what she wants. The idea of perfection in movement of dance, along with the amount of money and effort that goes into getting dressed for a party, was pretty shocking, furthermore, the sacrifices that these girls are willing to make and having to decide that at such young age is rather surprising. The fact that this lifestyle must make it very hard to have romantic life with someone would also be hard for the potential geishas. A geisha is committed to her big sister for life and this relationship is compared to bride and groom. This surprised me, as I had never heard about this aspect of geisha culture before. She now is representative of her big sister and must work hard to maintain both of their reputations. This seems to be lonely lifestyle, at least during their maiko study. Her friends are even unsure of the rules surrounding sex geisha and show how, although part of Japanese culture, their rules are not well known by the population.

She passes her exam and has to deal with the stress of missing home and not being able to talk to her family.  She is now allowed to go out entertaining with her sisters. The white make up of the geishas stems from the use of candle light in that the white acted a reflector for the light.  It takes about 2 hours them to get ready in order to go out. Formal presentation to the Koyoto Society as maiko is a very important event in the life of the geisha and was very significant for Kikuyu.