What is the water willow of a geisha?

0 1 elegance and exaggeration: two sides of the geisha world

The story details of "Memoirs of a Geisha in Xintian" and "Fengzi Iwasaki" in Gion may be different, but to some extent, the mystery of a geisha has been unveiled, and people can see the real life state of the traditional Japanese cultural symbol "Geisha".

As a profession, geisha originated in the Edo period at the end of 16, and evolved from a "male drummer" to a heroine. /kloc-In the mid-8th century, the decree issued by the shogunate made a strict distinction between "slut" and "geisha", and "selling art instead of prostitution" began to become the norm of geisha. During the Meiji period, geisha, together with cherry blossoms and Mount Fuji, became a symbol of Japanese traditional culture, which continues to this day.

For many people, the first impression geisha gives is "elegance" and "exaggeration".

The kimono patterns on their bodies are exquisite and complicated, and the white foot bags step on the high clogs, which makes them walk like "weak willows help the wind" and their smiles are even more exciting. As night falls, geisha dressed in costumes walk into an antique teahouse, laughing and dancing among the flowers, enjoying tea. They can always make men around them feel like spring breeze with intimate words and deeds.

Compared with gentle manners, the makeup of geisha is somewhat exaggerated: the white face like alabaster, lined with gorgeous red lips, forms a strong visual impact. Some people describe this makeup face as the mask "energy face" used in "Energy Drama", which hides all thoughts and ideas and only shows a beautiful and gentle side.

In fact, this is the embodiment of the contradiction in the geisha world: tenderness and consideration were once synonymous with "perfect women" in the eyes of Japanese men; When they return to the art gallery and take off their heavy makeup, life will be completely different: they can't relax after a day's training, expensive living expenses, interest disputes between geisha, the inheritance right of the art gallery, whether there are suitable providers and so on.

In a word, "emotion" and "interest" are eternal problems faced by geisha.

Geisha "Industrial Chain": From Comber to Teahouse Lady.

Geisha is essentially a transaction of "feelings" and "money". They treat every pleasure-seeking guest with "true feelings", but these feelings are not all from their own hearts, but more from the requirements of professional quality.

Lisa C. Dierbei, an American female scholar, mentioned in her book "I am a geisha in Kyoto" that there are more than 30 codes of conduct for geisha, including "smile confidently at any time", "take a bath at 3 pm every day and wait for the call at any time" and "don't criticize the guests". Even if the guests are rude, deal with them with appropriate words and never allow them to collide directly.

Since it is to provide services, there will be corresponding charges. The statement in Memoirs of a Geisha can be used as a reference: When a Geisha comes to a teahouse to receive guests, the female boss of the teahouse usually lights incense that can burn for an hour first.

According to the level of geisha, the fees charged are different. When Memoirs of a Geisha was an apprentice, he stayed with guests for an hour, and each wick was charged 5 yen. A famous geisha like Hatsumomo is charged with a wick 15 minutes. When geisha bean leaves were popular, it took five minutes to fill a wick, which was 12 times that of a geisha memoir.

Geisha is the most important "asset" of the art museum. Although the fees are high, the income does not all go into their own pockets, but is shared with all links in the "industrial chain": from teahouses and art galleries to hairdressers and dressers, it can be said that it is "rain and dew".

Except for a few "solo" geisha, most geisha belong to an art museum, and the art museum should set aside part of their income to help geisha undertake business, arrange trips, accommodation and training. Geisha can't receive guests in art galleries, but go to a special teahouse, and the hostess of the teahouse will also get a commission from it.

Geisha's personal expenses are not a small sum. Compared with cosmetics, headdresses, hairpins and other gadgets, kimono expenditure is the "bright spot". In 1930s, the price of a first-class kimono, plus accessories such as belts, belts and pillows, was higher than the annual income of ordinary workers. Geisha should prepare several kimonos with different colors, styles and patterns so that they can be worn alternately in various occasions and seasons. Some cash-strapped geisha have to borrow kimonos from art galleries.

Next to the geisha, there are a group of people who serve them: the master who washes hair and combs complicated hairstyles (the apprentice uses the peach-shaped "Mo Wei Shuai" and the geisha combs the "Teru Shimada bun"), helps them put on the dressing table of kimono (or "change clothes"), the maid who takes care of the house, the doctor in the pharmacy, the clerk in the grocery store and so on. In the end, only about half of geisha understood it themselves.

In areas where geisha are concentrated, such as Gion Kyoto, geisha are a Starlight Glimmer, and they are the core of this "industry". The change of people's attitude towards geisha in different times is also affecting the fate of many shops.

Geisha and "Dana": the "flower of interpretation" of wealthy businessmen and politicians

Before World War II, many geisha practitioners were born in poverty, and they were sold to art galleries to start their geisha careers. Mei Zi, a geisha, later became the second wife of the first Japanese Prime Minister Ito Bowen. Because of her father's gambling habit, she was sold to an art gallery. The memoirs of a geisha in Memoirs of a Geisha were introduced by Tanaka and sold to Xintian Art Museum as apprentices when her mother was dying and her father was unable to support her two daughters.

In modern society, some girls from well-off families take the initiative to receive geisha training out of their love for this industry, but in the past 400 years, becoming a geisha is often a helpless choice. As Bean Leaf said in Memoirs of a Geisha, "If we had a happy life, we wouldn't come to be geisha. We came to be geisha because we had no choice. "

For geisha, their occupation should be "serving" men. Apart from entertaining guests in teahouses, two people play a very important role in their lives: Shuiyang and Danna (also known as "Shuiyang Xianggong") won the bid.

The so-called "Shuiyang" means that the man who bids the highest in the "first night auction right" of geisha apprentices can get the right to spend the spring night with geisha. After the "Shui Yang" ceremony, the geisha apprentice became a formal geisha, and his collar changed from red to white. However, this practice has basically disappeared after World War II.

"Dana" is a provider of geisha, providing them with money, shelter, jewelry, gifts and so on. Becoming "Dana" needs strong financial support. Because geisha can't afford kimonos, beautiful and comfortable houses and expensive jewelry, only wealthy businessmen, politicians and other elites have the strength to become geisha.

In Memoirs of a Geisha, Baron Danna, the heir of a big bank, has a rich family property, so he supports two geisha in Kyoto and Tokyo.

There is an "invisible rule" in the relationship between a geisha and Dana, that is, after having Dana, a geisha can usually continue to serve in various tea houses, but she must be physically loyal to her Dana and unconditionally obey her requirements. Some geisha, such as Mei Zi Ito, will marry Dinah, but this phenomenon is not normal.

Dan is willing to spend a lot of money to become a provider, partly because in Japanese social culture, geisha is the ultimate in "beauty and goodness" and the perfect combination of sexy and elegant. They are like flowers of explanation, which make people temporarily escape from the troubles of work and family.