When people think of traditional Japan, many think of samurai and geisha. A lot of this is thanks, in part, to films like The Last Samurai and Memoirs of a Geisha. However, these movies took a few creative liberties in portraying these two jobs. They have a long, exciting history in Japan and are a rich part of the culture.But what is a geisha? What do they do? What is that history? Today, let’s take a deep dive into these traditional Japanese performers.What is a geisha?To explain what a geisha is, let’s look at the word itself. The word ‘geisha,’ written 芸者, combines two kanji. ‘Gei (芸)’ can mean ‘entertainment’ or some art or skill. ‘Sha (者)’ generally means person.In other words, they are elite female artists who specialize in traditional Japanese arts.Geisha in Kyoto are geiko, or children of art. Thanks to Kyoto being the old capital of Japan, it is currently the geisha capital of Japan as well. It is also one of the places where many women train as apprentice geisha, known a...
