Its just a question, i think the hafu would be the gaijin, because at least the western geisha is culturally japanese and has made an effort in the last 10 years of it
Why werr my threads merged, the content of the threads were different
Seems there is a lot of debate about "Sayuki". Reddit has quite a spicy thread dedicated to her. I think she was able to successfully market herself to foreign tourists as the first western geisha, but nobody in Japan considered her to be one. More like a foreigner who cosplayed as a geisha and turned her proximity to the geisha culture into a career.
Apparently she passed away in January of this year, so, may her memory be a blessing to all who knew her.
In the online forums I've read, they all say that no westerner (or half-Japanese) has ever been a geisha/geiko/maiko. The training and lifestyle is too demanding, and the economic prospects seem to be very tenuous.
I don't think it was possible for her to be a maiko at age 46 or whatever it was. And unlikely she achieved the skills to be a geiko. Not sure how "geiko" are certified but I imagine there must be some formal process involving a geisha house to back her. And unlikely they'd put their reputation on the line to officially certify her. So, yeah, it looks like an elaborate cosplay. For some reason it reminds me of the dog man.
Apparently there is no age restriction to become a geiko per se, although maiko is only ages 15 to 20. Ordinarily one needs to belong to a geisha house to be a geiko, although this article doesn't explain what any exceptions might be.
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