Added: 4 years ago
From: NationalGeographic
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  • Creepy...

  • i though they where also assassins back in say.....1564

  • Geisha/geiko/maiko are NOT prostitutes. Their very namesake means "artist." Sure, they may sleep with one of their patrons, but that is the individual's prerogative and not to be confused with the profession as a whole. They are entertainers and artisans, nothing more.

  • They are postitutes but japaneese dont see it so bad but something good...

  • so beautiful, i just love the world and all it`s different cultures, everyone is beautiful

  • "Though its true that some early geishas were prostitutes"

    That statement was extremely in accurate. Geisha were never prostitutes though many mistaked Oiran and Geisha to be the same thing because they dressed similarlly and after WW2 Oiran began calling themselves Geesha (the pronounciation is not the same.)

  • Around the world, the term geisha has many different connotations; some western countries think that geishas are high-class prostitutes or escorts. Even some Japanese citizens see geisha in that way because of the lower class geisha who do sell their bodies and work as prostitutes. The biggest misconception of geisha is that they have sex with their customers; the most exclusive modern geisha do not. Their sex and love lives are usually distinct from their professional life.

  • Just watch Memoirs of a Geisha.

    Then all of you will understand!

  • @Piecesibble Memoirs of a Geisha is a fictional story with few truths in it. If you get the book, look at the inside cover, & read the reviews.

  • Just after world war 2 i think westerners confused geisha with prostitutes coz they dressed similar to them and called themselves geisha girls, but i think i remember their being a law in japan as how they were not prostitutes or to be seen that way... nyeh

  • Ever since I was a little girl i've been fascinated by Geisha when I first saw them in the pages of National Geographic back in 1992-3. They live in such a wonderful and secret world of beauty and fantasy and I really hope I can go to Japan in the future to see Geisha preform live :)

  • @farabovetheclouds hahaha i read that as 1923 i was like wow if that person was reading national geo back then how old are they !

  • the thing that amazes me is that most men in Japan would pay a high price simply for COMPANIONSHIP! There is an art to love and an art to making someone feel like they are special and wanted and desired. In western culture, we think that kind of love is simply sex. In a way, that makes us simple and primitive compared to these asian cultures that became civilized WAY before europe.

  • I just went to Japan and I was one of the western people taking pictures. I didn't do it to gawk but rather for artwork. Yes they are still people but they can't expect not to be photographed. I was the only one taking pictures of the two one day out walking in a park. However one night in Kyoto in the Geisha area yes I shot pictures of them out walking with a client but I wasn't the only one. I found two Japanese photographers out with bigger lenses being agressive .

  • It's a good job, good for business networking :)

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  • Geisha spent most ofd their time pouring tea, looking beautiful, making conversation and dancing. Real geisha were not prostitutes, although a high standing Geisha could be payed hundreds of thousands for her virginity.

  • LMAO not as pretty as Ziyi Zhang

  • God, I hate the westerners at the begginning taking pictures of the Geisha walking down the street. They're still people...

  • @YesIm10 and I take pictures of people too.

  • I read about Geisha's and it's true that some were in it for money, usually dishonourable, think more a chaste lady escort with the ability to CHARM without GOING TO BED and you have a true Geisha.

    A lot could play koto and quote poetry

  • I like this Geisha thing. hehe

    not that I want to be one cuz i' ma guy lool

    but I think that it's nice that there is something out there that helps people feel good about themselves. 'nice feeling.

  • @100808jojggassi

    I take it you didn't watch the video at all before you commented that.

    Lol.

  • Wow, I saw love this part of Japanese culture

    they look so elegant and divine

  • I would just like to point out to those who are having a go about the prostitute thing the programme does only say "Some early Giesha's where prostitiutes" Which in a sense is true... and over time it's changed... Either way I suppose nobody will ever fully know/agree on this down to the roots of the matter... so yeah... Xx

  • How many times do people have to say that TRUE Geisha were NOT prostitutes before that's understood. *waiting to see how many comments are STILL posted by people who are not ready to understand the truth about other cultures*

  • There are prostitutes in America, so basically americans(or authors) talks there about themselfs. They even can hardly get that it is their own state of mind they are talking about not geishas and also because they are dumb they present it publicly. Ask geishas what geisha is.

  • There are prostitutes in America, so basically americans(or authors) talks there about themselfs. They even can hardly get that it is their own state of mind they are talking about not geishas and also because they are dumb they present it publicly.

  • this is the first Chilean clip with comics from songwriter "Rhobby"

  • ugh.... how I hate ppl taking pictures without their permission!! that's soo rude!! Just a small bow and a small "Shashin onegai?" or something like that would be awesome. Or an "Arigatou!!" afterwards if you can'task for permission!!

  • Not being Racist , but white people are ignorant , and dumb , they shouldn't go around videos about other cultures commenting ''Ohh geisha's were prostitutes'' thats dumb , thats why alot of other cultures hates american&canadian ,

    Learn about if first before you go saying theyre prostitutes ,

    and stop being so ignorant

    Geisha's are music players, and artists

    so stop being dumb

  • Because of Japanese geishas, most of people think all japanese girls are whores.

    Geishas were just well trained prostitutes.

    Have you seen Miss Japan's 3 some sex video?

    That's typical japanese girls...seving white masters with all their technics.

  • @Unit731Jap and you're an idiot. ^^ The prostitutes were Tayuu and Oiran.

  • Geishas never were prostitutes, but they could go to bed with a client if they want,

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  • i hate to death ppl who call geishas whores . i would do anything to be a geisha !

  • they are beautiful

  • I wish I was a GEISHA! =D

  • @Xiber1 thioredically yes...

  • @Xiber1

    you are obviously an American. Cuz americans don't use their brains. It always Sex and Beer and Alcohol. Then at the end, u guys all die alone. How pitiful

  • @princeofwinter

    I take exception to that. I am American and married to a Japanese woman. Don't let one apple spoil the whole bunch. Where are you from genius? You say we only think of sex, beer, and alcohol. You know, beer and alcohol are regularly consumed in Japan as a social stability. "I was there" and as many people as I saw, beer was a VERY big thing. Think before you open your mouth!!!

  • @gd6585

    Fine, I didn't said that to all American all right. Just trying to make point. My apology cuz I didn't stated it clearer

  • @Xiber1 idiot no. im practicing becuase my sister took japanease and she is helping me. im not japanese im white and blonde with blue eyes does anything stop me? no. okay. so please.

  • @Xiber1 So basically shut up right? enterntainment =/= sex

  • i'm a man and i know how to play "sakura" ^^

  • awws i could have watched this on foxtel...

  • they are so beautiful

  • I like your comment, occeo, well put. those that have the power make the rules.

    btw, i didn't mean to dis the geisha in anyway. they made the best of their lot in life...as did the Tayuu...the kameru, makos, ect. And they looked GOOD doing it!!

  • Memoirs Of a Geisha" so no1 looks up the wrong thing :3

  • Geisha mythology is as extensive, and as incorrect as American Cowboy mythology. Many were high class courtesians and had extensive "affairs" leading to abortians, even when they were quite young. The point isn't that Geishas never sold themselves or that high class Tayuu wern't skilled in more than lovemaking; the point is that these young women worked hard from their days as Maiko or Kameru to be indepentant of, and controlling of powerful men. The sex wasn't as big a deal as we think.

  • agreed japanese men had so much power over women socially and culturally back then its just unreal for the geisha profession to be absolutely free from sex.

  • @kronoscorvinus oooooo you're so cool! you know all these japanese words! therefore, you clearly know everything! teach me to be that cool!

  • @kronoscorvinus wait what...tayu were skilled in wayyy more then intimacy. Their role was like geisha, they just offered conserved sexual acts on the side so I don't get it...? there still are under 5 tayu today, minus the sex they perform traditional dance & music & hospitality just like maiko & geiko...

  • Quick question...do you have to be Japanese (Asian) to be a Geisha? Or could anyone who lived in Japan be a Geisha?

  • No, in fact, the geisha who taught the actresses on Memoirs of a Geisha was a white american. :)

  • I was going to ask that too. lol It's so cool.

  • There is one australian geisha in Tokyo today.

    I think that's all, although I heard suppositions about russian and chinese girls possibly becoming geisha before the war.

    There is also Lisa Dalby, who is probably whom kagnomi is refering to, but she never was a real geisha - she participated as one to a number of parties, as first-hand experience for her thesis.

    But there is no law or hard and fast rule about that, I suppose. Fluency in the langage would be a requisite, though.

  • No, they're not at all. :) They are artists and true entertainers, and they don't sell themselves or anything like that.

  • not all.some do take a master, but he pays for all her trainning, clothes ect: so he is like her support and even if she takes a master they don't always have sexual intercourse

  • look for the movie memwars of a gieshia its a reallhy good movie and it might patch up a LOT of things u might want to know (really good movie trust me)

  • Did you not WATCH the VDEO???

  • Geisha and maiko are also a way for a buisnessman to impress a possible client.

  • They're Eastern Butterflies... Beautiful but fragile.

    Wonder how long this culture would last?

  • I think only asians truly understand this concept of geisha.

  • ummm yea they did actuallyy, get ur fact straight before posting, they were never supposed to but they did a long time ago,when they originated

  • Geisha are really beautiful and the dedication that they have. They truly are walking artwork!

  • their all so pretty and so frigile looking i so want to go to Japan one day also home of Hello Kitty and Anime

  • @freacls Manga too.

  • @masterman123654 omg yeah cant for get the Manga i love that

  • can some1 reply tome with the url of the show where

    Naosuzu's and umachika are i remenber i c yumachika but i cant remenber where.

  • I love Naosuzu's face. It's elegant yet adorable.

  • The proper noun is "Geisha". There is no 's' at the end. 1 Geisha, 1 million Geisha.

  • i have read a lot about geisha's and would like to think i know a lot about them... i just hope that this 'tradition' will never die. the number of geisha's in japan are falling quite drasticly..

  • Enchanting.

  • I like how the japanese talks !

  • wow. what a beautiful way of expressing women!

  • They are so feminine,an inspiration for other women..And they are not prostitutes!

  • Obviously you know nothing about Geisha whatsoever.

  • yesterday i cam back from japan ive been in tokyo,kioto and hiroshima . in fact there are many geishas and private clubs in kyoto and there are also many outfits there are a lil expensive though. but what i dont understand the point of the bed with the client

  • Geisha is not prostitution people! Watch the damn Video!

  • I learned when I went to Kyoto, that when they become 20 or older, they have to take their own jobs........Usually ends up at a bar.

  • So, correct me if I'm wrong or crude..but it's like, an ego-booster? Like, a date maybe?

  • Blame your "husband". You shouldnt be calling them names.

  • I wonder if they ever ask themselves the question, "What is the purpose of my life?"

  • lol wtf is the purpose of YOUR life stfu

  • same as the rest of us. to live. What is the purpose of Geisha? To show history for one. To show a form of beauty. To the sitl4ly, there are Geisha and prostitutes. The way they wear their sash tells the difference. also the fact that a geisha wears 5 or more kimono. the whore wears 1.

  • Actually, legionrat, high class prostitutes (oiran) that lived in the tokugawa period, where extremely elaborate, and more elborate than geishas. Oiran wore at least seven types of kimono before sensually stripping them off before the man at the end of the evening.Geisha's only wear one kimono because they don't do all the hooker stuff. Also, Oiran wore more long ornamentsthan geisha.

    Also, as legionrat said, Oiran tied their obi in the front, to make it easier to strip off and put back on.

  • No, geisha do not wear 5 or more kimono.  The geisha wear a juban (under kimono) with a whilte collar (the Maiko, or apprentice geisha, wear a red collar) and then the kimono itself. The oiran, or prositutes, are the ones who wear more kimono.

  • Cool, I find all this fascinating. I'm very much into Japanese culture but am still learning thank goodness :)

  • I have studided the Japanese geisha culture (all the dances, five years of playing shamisen, tea ceremonies, etc)to the extent that I could be a maiko, if it was not for the fact that I'm caucasian. There has only been on giesha in history that was not Japanese by birth, and it was a geisha that suggested she become a geisha to become closer to her research. Needless to say I'm a little dissappointedby this fact.

  • well y dont u become tha 2nd one then quit complaining and just do it ok either that or stfu

  • so they are ego boosters. very hard to be a geisha haha.

  • I learned that only real geishas can wear red in their outfits, people dressing up like them and apprentices respect this and avoid red.

  • Actually you'll find tourists dressed up like Maiko who also wear red in their collar etc. ^^

  • My dad went to Japan for a year in 1960 and sent back real geisha kimonos and makeup and my mom made me a geisha for Halloween. She even made me the hair. I had the dingle dangles on my hair, fan, shoes, everything. It was incredible. GREAT MEMORY I was 10. I love Geisha's!

  • What is a geisha but one culture's interpretation of beauty and art? For a Japanese girl to choose to be a geisha is just like an American girl who chooses to be a ballerina--both of them want to do something beautiful and artistic that is a part of their culture.

  • @veevee305 Very well said.

  • @veevee305 that's a really good comparison

  • I love Japanese culture :)

    Where can i get those geisha outfit??

  • I doubt you want to pay 500 to about 4000 for a kimono lol. I hear some of the expensive ones can cost about 9000 dollars. It's good you're interested though, it's really rare to find someone wearing a Kimono these days though..Traditional Japan is slowing dying :(

  • maybe you could get a Yucata. They look like Kimonos but their much more thin in fabric, and it is cheap. mine was about 200 dollars.

    And they have alot of those because people still wear it in the summer for festivals and stuff.

  • That's one expensive yukata! My yukata was around $20-30 dollars, and one can get a quite nice kimono for the $200 you paid for a yukata! In fact, most of the kimono in my collection were only around $100-150 each.

  • whoa! My grandma got them at this department store in Japan that is really expensive.She said I ought to have a really nice pair so I can wear it throught my life.

    But... 20-30 dollars! that is cheap.

    But my sister has a fake pair of Yukata for children that is like a skirt with those tops that overlap. they were about $20-30, I think.

  • Those prices don't sound right.

  • lol

  • Japanese men really looove to be "entertained" don't they? O__O I mean, why talk to entertainers when you have a family who'll listen to you? It's weird...

  • excuse me, weren't you listening to what the lady was saying about present day geishas? they're not prostitutes since they don't go to bed with the men. and they are artistic since they have to learn how to play instruments and dance. so don't go bad mouthing about a certain tradition which you know nothing about.

  • "SOME geishas were prostitutes". They weren't SUPPOSED to be having sex with clients.

    Learns more about this tradition of Japan before you go bashing on about it.

    This is why other countries hate America; there are close -minded, ignorant people like you.

  • You're an ass for being disrespectful to my culture. You're never going to get a geisha anyway so settle for your prostitutes here in America. Because thats what they're ACTUALLY meant for.

  • im japan too, eggyjookbox thx for standing up to our culture ^^ im gonna go to japan this summer and i want to kno more about my culture :3

  • @eggyjookbox I understand that I am far behind on replying to this- considering your comment is two years old- but I have actually known native Japanese, and many at that, who were fooled into thinking the geisha were prostitues as well. The lives and ways of geisha are nearly just as obscure in modern Japan as it in the Western world. Regardless, you are correct, they were not initially prostitutes- though some did take part in such acts.

  • vete a la verga pinchi grina, racista, por gente como tu  les mandan aviones pendeja

  • Why would they train to become a prostitues. Get the facts right lady.

  • ...

  • if i saw one in the dark i'd run!! scary white make up...they remind me of the grudge

  • Oh please. They're just overrated whores. Whores who can dance, play instruments, and engage in conversation, sure... But still whores.

  • their beauty its complete because they are smart and cute, i mean the perfect woman... i would like to marry one

  • geisha are amazing

  • their not as pretty as the geishas

    in "memoirs of a geisha" :(

  • "Memoirs" is complete fiction. The woman on whom the writer based the story actually sued him because he completely twisted everything she told him.

  • I wouldn't be seduced by a woman in clown makeup.

  • I live in Japan and I am afraid of geishas

  • why ou are afraid of them ?

  • yes why?

  • Just a elite hooker! Nothing alse. hehe im just joking. But the hooker dont need any traning, much easier. hehe No no, geisha good girls . ;)

  • cool

  • i have never been to Japan, but as an Artist, its on the top of my list. Japanese people are so creative, sensitive and intelligent. I love the culture and i welcome what they bring to Europe and north america

  • Interesting! I should show this to my mum and prove to her that Geisha's are NOT prostitutes.

  • What a waste, I would love for you to introduce me to your mum!

    I wouls love to prove to her that I am not a gigalo!

  • Japan was the best place ever, I went to kyoto and never saw a geisha but me and my friend were dressed up as geisha for a reward ceremony (so were the other girls) and the boys were dressed as samauri. I saw some monks. I love japan cant wait to go back!

  • excuse me but i believe 'shit' it brown not white..stuuupid imbecile and err of course their eyes are 'freaking' long because they are 'freaking' japanese you bozo dont you know anything about the world? stupid person

  • banister74 is obviously over the age of 30, I am, too, but I would prefer to let this small spelling problem slide. After all, I understand what was said, and isnt that the important thing?

  • It's a whole different culture to the west, no one should judge, we don't have the equivalent here. I find it fascinating that a woman would put herself through all this diciplin in this day and age.

  • well i appreciate you say that about my culture but yeah!

  • I love Japan and the Japanese culture, and hope to return soon, later this year.

  • me too! I miss it, the Japanese are so kind and welcoming, the whole place is beautiful. I went to urakawa and kyoto. what about you?

  • hmm i think countries should keep their culture and dicepline to be honest, if they were all the same the world would be very boooring and i think they should dress differently tooo

  • Nonodont, I think you're the one that's not too bright. You started your sentence with 'there' (should have been they're) and instead of writing 'too' you wrote 'to'. 'Cuz' isn't a real word, I actually don't know what that means. Oh, and when you start a sentence, use a capital letter you dumb piece of shit. Shit is another word for poo (you probably didn't know that). Another thing, normal people put two spaces between a full stop and a new sentence.

  • Your killing me

  • Hitler was a gangsta!!! yeah niga!!!!

  • ???????im German and i think Hitler is a: fucking son of a bitching sukcing bastarding assholing.....................­................

    i cant talk probably im so fucking furious about hitler

  • shut up

  • Great, another educated eloquent subscriber!

  • what has hitler got to do with anything

  • your such an asshole

  • Would you like to marry me and come to live in Australia!

    There are a lot of Filipinos here!

  • hmmm i dont know what ye are going on about i can see you are more deranged than me

  • I bet you are?

    Now you have to speak english rathern than german!

    Imagined if you guys had won! We would be hailing in german rathern than singing our national anthem in english!

    Suckers!

  • NUKE THE WHALES!