A geisha (芸者) is a professional entertainer trained for years in traditional Japanese music, dance, and the art of conversation, hired to host and entertain guests at dinners and private parties. The word itself explains the job better than any stereotype does: gei means art, and sha means person. A geisha is, quite literally, a person of the arts.
Years of training before a first appearance
A geisha's training starts young and takes years to complete. A trainee, called a maiko in Kyoto, lives and studies at an okiya, a geisha house, learning classical dance, singing, and the shamisen, a three-stringed instrument, alongside the finer points of tea service, formal conversation, and how to run a room full of guests smoothly. Only after years of practice does a maiko graduate to full geisha status, marked by a change to simpler makeup and a more subdued kimono style. The whole system runs on that long apprenticeship, skill built up slowly under people who have already mastered it.
A misunderstood profession
Outside Japan, geisha have often been confused with something they are not. The job is entertainment through skill, not romance or anything beyond it, and reputable geisha houses have always drawn a hard line there. Gion, the old geisha district of Kyoto, is still the most famous place to spot one hurrying between engagements in full dress, though the total number of working geisha has shrunk a great deal since the art's peak. Those who remain are seen as keepers of a demanding, disciplined tradition, skilled performers first and foremost.
Words & idioms to take away
Idioms & proverbs to carry away
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舞妓 (maiko): a geisha in training, identified by more elaborate makeup, hair ornaments, and a longer trailing kimono sleeve than a full geisha wears.
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置屋 (okiya): the geisha house where trainees live, train, and are supported through their long apprenticeship.