The Japanese Geisha

Contrary to popular western belief, a geisha is not a prostitute. Although she works as a professional hostess at a teahouse called O-chaya, the kind of work she does has actually very little to do with prostitution or sex. Schooled in the arts and highly cultured as part of her training, the geisha possesses skills in the fine art of Japanese ancient dance, singing, playing musical instruments, doing flower arrangements, wearing kimono, holding a tea ceremony, calligraphy, engaging in formal conversations, etiquette, alcohol serving manners and more. These talents, which she keeps developing and perfecting all throughout her career as a geisha, have earned her a certain degree of respectability in traditional Japanese society. In fact, the term geisha in Japanese me View the rest of this article