OKAY GUYS... I KNOW I SHOULD BE UPDATING ALL OF MY OTHER STORIES BUT I HAD THIS CRAZY IDEA AND I HOPED TO SHARE IT WITH ALL OF YOU LOVELY READERS... PLEASE CHECK OUT MY LATEST WORK... IT'S JUST THE PROLOGUE BUT IF I GET GOOD AND POSITIVE REVIEWS I'LL CONTINUE IT!
HOPE YOU'LL ALL SUPPORT ME ^^
So here you go...
CHAPTER 1: PROLOGUE
Geisha are traditional Japanese female entertainers that are trained as professional singers, dancers, and companions for men. The word geisha itself means artist. As artists, geisha are trained to entertain men in either a professional or social gathering. The skills geisha use to entertain male customers include serving tea, playing instruments, cultural dances, and the art of conversation. As skilled entertainers, Geisha must go through a training program so they can learn the skills needed to entertain. This process can take anywhere from six months to three years.
At the pinnacle of the complex geisha ranking system are the grand dowagers of Kyoto. The gokagai of Kyoto are its five geisha districts, also known as hanamachi ("flower towns"). Gion Kōbu, Pontochō and Kamishichiken have the highest status; they are very expensive, and are frequented by powerful businessmen and politicians (Gion Kōbu is sometimes seen as having the very highest ranking). Geikos from the other two hanamachi (Gion Higashi and Miyagawa-cho) have high prestige but are considered to be one rank lower.
At the opposite end of the spectrum are the hot-spring geisha. These geisha work in the spa resorts and are viewed by most Japanese as no better than a common prostitute. They normally cater to far less exclusive patrons, and are much less expensive. If their income is supplemented by selling sex, they remain distinct from regular prostitutes; like all geisha, they are trained in the art of Japanese dance and music. Even so, hanamachi geisha might be horrified if categorized with hot-spring geisha.
Traditionally, Geisha began their training at a young age. Some girls were bonded to geisha houses (okiya) as children. These girls were referred to as hangyoku and were as young as nine years old. This was not a common practice in reputable districts and disappeared in the 1950s with the outlawing of child of geisha were often brought up as geisha themselves, usually as the successor (atotori, meaning "heir" or "heiress" in this particular situation) or daughter-role (musume-bun) to the okiya.
A maiko is essentially an apprentice and is therefore bonded under a contract to her okiya. The okiya supplies her with food, board, kimonos, obis, and other tools of her trade. Her training is very expensive, and her debt must be repaid to the okiya with the earnings she makes. This repayment may continue after the maiko becomes a full-fledged geisha and only when her debts are settled is she permitted to move out to live and work independently.
A maiko will start her formal training on the job as a minarai, which literally means "learning by watching". Before she can do this she must find an onee-san ("older sister": an older geisha acting as her mentor). It is the onee-san's responsibility to bring her to the ozashiki a banquet in any traditional Japanese building with tatami), to sit and observe as the onee-san is at work. This is a way in which she will gain insights of the job, and seek out potential clients. Although minarai attend ozashiki, they do not participate at an advanced level. Their kimono, more elaborate than a geiko's, are intended to do the talking for them. Minarai can be hired for parties but are usually uninvited (yet welcomed) guests at parties that their onee-san attends. They only charge a third of the usual fee. Minarai generally work with a particular tea house (minarai-jaya) learning from the okaa-san (literally "mother," the proprietress of the house). From her, they would learn techniques such as conversation and gaming, which would not be taught to them in school. This stage lasts only about a month or so.
After a short period the final stage of training begins, and the students are called "maiko". Maiko (literally "dance girl") are apprentice geisha, and this stage can last for years. Maiko learn from their senior geisha mentor and follow them to all their engagements. The onee-san and imouto-san (senior/junior, literally "older sister/younger sister") relationship is important. The onee-san teaches her maiko everything about working in the hanamachi. The onee-san will teach her proper ways of serving tea, playing shamisen, dancing, casual conversation and more. The onee-san will even help pick the maiko's new professional name with kanji or symbols related to her name.
There are three major elements of a maiko's training. The first is the formal arts training. This takes place in special geisha schools which are found in every hanamachi. The second element is the entertainment training which the maiko learns at various teahouses and parties by observing her onee-san. The third is the social skill of navigating the complex social web of the hanamachi. This is done on the streets. Formal greetings, gifts, and visits are key parts of any social structure in Japan and for a maiko, they are crucial for her to build the support network she needs to survive as a geisha.
Maiko are considered one of the great sights of Japanese tourism, and look very different from fully qualified geisha. They are at the peak of traditional Japanese femininity. The scarlet-fringed collar of a maiko's kimono hangs very loosely in the back to accentuate the nape of the neck, which is considered a primary erotic area in Japanese sexuality. She wears the same white makeup for her face on her nape, leaving two or sometimes three stripes of bare skin exposed. Her kimono is bright and colorful with an elaborately tied obi hanging down to her ankles. She takes very small steps and wears traditional wooden shoes called okobo which stand nearly ten centimeters high. There are 5 different hairstyles that a maiko wears, that mark the different stages of her apprenticeship. The "Nihongami" hairstyle with "kanzashi" hair-ornamentation strips is most closely associated with maiko, who spend hours each week at the hairdresser and sleep on holed-pillows to preserve the elaborate styling. Maiko can develop a bald spot on their crown caused by rubbing from Kanzashi strips and tugging in hairdressing. This was associated with the maiko's womanhood, as it came from a pulled knot in the ofuku hairstyle that a maiko would wear after her mizuage or first sexual experience (before which, the maiden wareshinobu style was worn).
Around the age of 20–22, the maiko is promoted to a full-fledged geisha in a ceremony called erikae (turning of the collar). This could happen after two to five years of her life as a maiko or hangyoku, depending on at what age she debuted. She now charges full price for her time. Geisha remain as such until they retire.
The appeal of a high-ranking geisha to her typical male guest has historically been very different from that of his wife. The ideal geisha showed her skill, while the ideal wife was modest. The ideal geisha seemed carefree, the ideal wife somber and responsible. Geisha do sometimes marry their clients but they must then retire; there can never be a married geisha.
There is a common misconception that geisha are prostitutes since geisha entertain men. However, geisha differ from prostitutes, as they do not sell their body, just companionship and entertainment. Being a geisha and engaging in the activities of a geisha is perfectly legal, however prostitution is not legal. A geisha and a prostitute could be mistaken for one another, however. The easiest way to tell a geisha from a prostitute is to distinguish where they tie their obi. Prostitutes tie their obi in the front as it is easy for them to take off and on without having someone else to tie it for them. In comparison, geisha tie their obi in the back.
Geisha may gracefully flirt with their (often infatuated) guests, but they will always remain in control of the hospitality. Over their years of apprenticeship they learn to adapt to different situations and personalities, mastering the art of the hostess.
Geisha are expected to be single women; those who choose to marry must retire from the profession.
It was traditional in the past for established geisha to take a danna, or patron. A danna was typically a wealthy man, sometimes married, who had the means to support the very large expenses related to a geisha's traditional training and other costs. This sometimes occurs today as well, but very rarely. A geisha and her danna may or may not be in love, but intimacy is never viewed as a reward for the danna's financial support. The traditional conventions and values within such a relationship are very intricate and not well understood, even by many Japanese.
While it is true that a geisha is free to pursue personal relationships with men she meets through her work, such relationships are carefully chosen and unlikely to be casual. A hanamachi tends to be a very tight-knit community and a geisha's good reputation is not taken lightly.
Mizuage was a ceremony undergone by a maiko, where a man paid money for the privilege of having sex with the apprentice geisha; this also signified her coming of age. This transition usually occurs around the age of twenty. After that a geisha must be able to stand on the strength of her own artistic accomplishments and leaves her "Older sister".
Mizuage literally means "raising the waters" and originally meant unloading a ship's cargo of fish. Over time, the word came to represent money earned in the entertainment business.
During the Edo period, courtesans undergoing mizuage were sponsored by a patron who had the right of taking their virginity. This practice became illegal in 1959. All maikos had to go through this ceremony in order to become a full-fledged geisha. Once the mizuage patron's function was served (of deflowering the young maiko) he was to have no further relations with the girl.
The money acquired for a maiko's mizuage was a great sum and it was used to promote her debut as a geisha. The ceremonial deflowering of the Geisha was not only a commercial transaction, but was a rite of passage: A fully fledged geisha is a sophisticated "professional woman" expected to have worldly knowledge of the opposite sex.
Mizuage is technically illegal. Yet it is one of those things that while officially denied, still undoubtedly occur sub rosa. Since apprentice maiko are now all over the age of consent anyway, they currently have a say in whether they have a mizuage or not, and it is no longer mandatory to be deflowered in order to come of age as a geisha.
A geisha's appearance changes throughout her career, from the girlish, heavily made-up maiko, to the more sombre appearance of an older established geisha. Different hairstyles and hairpins signify different stages of a girl's development and even a detail as minute as the length of one's eyebrows is significant. Short eyebrows are for the young and long eyebrows display maturity.
Geisha always wear kimono. Apprentice geisha wear highly colorful kimono with extravagant obi. The obi is brighter than the kimono she is wearing to give a certain exotic balance. Maiko of Kyoto wear the obi tied in a style called "darari" (dangling obi), while Tokyo "hangyoku" wear it tied in various ways, including taiko musubi. Older geisha of Kyoto wear more subdued patterns and styles most notably the obi tied in a simpler knot used by married women known as the drum knot.
An apprentice geisha's kimono will have, in addition to the heavy dangling obi, pocketed sleeves called "furi" that dangle all the way to the ground. During a dance or performance, an apprentice must wrap the pocketed sleeves around her arms many times to avoid tripping.
The color, pattern, and style of kimono are dependent on the season and the event the geisha is attending. In winter, geisha can be seen wearing a three-quarter length haori lined with hand-painted silk over their kimono. Lined kimono is worn during colder seasons, and unlined kimono during the summer. A kimono can take from two to three years to complete, due to painting and embroidering.
Geiko wear red or pink nagajuban, or under-kimono. A maiko wears red with white printed patterns. The junior maiko's collar is predominantly red with white, silver, or gold embroidery. Two to three years into her apprenticeship, the red collar will be entirely embroidered in white (when viewed from the front) to show her seniority. At around age 20, her collar will turn from red to white.
Geisha wear the flat-soled sandal zori outdoors and wear only tabi (white split-toed socks) indoors. In inclement weather geisha wear raised wooden clogs, called geta. Maiko wear a special wooden clog known as okobo.
Now that all of you have a clear description of what and who a Geisha is I'd like to introduce myself; I am Kuroko Tetsuya. I was born to Airi Kuroko and I'm the next heiress to the Kokoro Home; my mother is the head Geisha and I am the only child she ever bore- credits to her Danna. But the thing is that once I step out of this room. I always thought this room was small, stuffy even, but now that it lies empty I can see how large it really is. Mother had collected so much furniture over the years, all of it holding sentimental value from one of her predeceased friends that it was hard even to move around. It had become impossible to take a step without worrying about knocking something over. Without her dusty roller-blinds the light streams in unfettered through the large bay windows. It's like someone just turned the clock back a decade or more. Instead of being an old lady's living room, it's now just a room, waiting for a new personality to be imposed on it. Already I'm renovating in my head, where the piano was will be French doors to let in more sun. I'm keeping the old wood-burning fireplace though; the city won't even let you put those in anymore. Perhaps I'll just make the surround natural stone, flat and unfussy. But, that was all for later; because once I stepped out of this room; I Kuroko Tetsuya- a regular 18 year old boy starting fresh in university with a lot of friends won't be the poker-face Tetsuya who everybody deemed as nothing but rather once I stepped out of the confinement of the room I'd be Kuroko Tetsumi- daughter of my mother and a Geisha….
OKAY SO THIS IS THE PROLOGUE
I KNOW THERE'S VERY LESS HERE BUT I'D LIKE YOU ALL TO REVIEW AND LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU GUYS THINK.
REVIEW TO LET ME KNOW IF I SHOULD CONTINUE OR NOT?
TILL THEN… TOODLES~~~~~~
