Contrary to popular belief, geisha are not the Eastern equivalent of a prostitute, a misconception originating in the West due to interactions with Japanese oiran courtesans , whose traditional attire is similar to that of geisha. The most literal translation of geisha into English would be "artist", "performing artist", or "artisan". This term is used to refer to geisha from Western Japan, which includes Kyoto and Kanazawa. The white make-up and elaborate kimono and hair of a maiko is the popular image held of geisha.
A woman entering the geisha community does not have to begin as a maiko, having the opportunity to begin her career as a full geisha. Either way, however, usually a year's training is involved before debuting either as a maiko or as a geisha. A woman above 21 is considered too old to be a maiko and becomes a full geisha upon her initiation into the geisha community. On average, Tokyo apprentices who typically begin at 18 are slightly older than their Kyoto counterparts who usually start at The early Shikomi in-training and Minarai learns by watching stages of geisha training lasted for years shikomi and months minarai respectively, which is significantly longer than in contemporary times.
A girl is often a shikomi for up to a year while the modern minarai period is simply one month. Before they disappeared , the courtesans were the colourful "flowers" and the geisha the " willows " because of their subtlety, strength, and grace. In the early stages of Japanese history, there were female entertainers: Saburuko serving girls were mostly wandering girls whose families were displaced from struggles in the late s.
Some of these saburuko girls sold sexual services, while others with a better education made a living by entertaining at high-class social gatherings. Traditional Japan embraced sexual delights and men were not constrained to be faithful to their wives. For sexual enjoyment and romantic attachment, men did not go to their wives, but to courtesans. They performed erotic dances and skits, and this new art was dubbed kabuku , meaning "to be wild and outrageous".
The dances were called "kabuki", and this was the beginning of kabuki theater. These pleasure quarters quickly became glamorous entertainment centers, offering more than sex.
