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Geisha Beautiful?

hehehe, maybe you can become one ;)

(sorry couldn't resist :sorry: )
 
hey! what's that suppose to mean!? i'm not THAT unly now am i?

no wait.... don't anwser that...... retorical question.....

i just think geisha are very pretty
 
ObscureAngel said:
to me its the way they carry themselvs and all the training that they go through just to entertain drunk men.

I think you're thinking of hostesses here. I doubt any training is required for that.
 
I think it is the grace with which they walk, dance, sing and play for their patrons.

Grace. Yeah, that's the ticket.

And they are beautiful, to me. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
 
Duo said:
I think they look really ugly, how they were considered sex godesses is beyond my comprehension. The fat one especially :p

They weren't. The fundamental thing that separated a geisha from a consort is that you weren't allowed to have sex with geisha.
 
Don't find much beauty at all really. It's an interesting history and tradition to read though, just leave out the pictures. Personaly, I'm abit weird (maybe) in that I think a man should dedicate himself to making a women happy rather than vice-versa.
 
I really think geishas are very pretty, I like the entire concept of them wearing such pretty furisodes, how its colorful. And painting their faces white.

I like it, I mean its very interesting. Hopefully if I ever go to japan, I'm definitly taking LOTS of pictures of them. ^_^.
 
i think they're beautiful in a sense that's not completely physical. they weren't for sex, but they could so accomplished in conversation and music, and they were so etheral and embodied the ancient japanese ideal of feminine beauty.

and i love the kimonos and their hairstyles, though i admit the white make-up is kinda intersting in that it emphasizes the eyes and lips and the fabric of the kimono, but it also kinda reminds me of a blank canvas on which the customer could write his own desires or whatever...
 
ashuri2 said:
i think they're beautiful in a sense that's not completely physical. they weren't for sex, but they could so accomplished in conversation and music, and they were so etheral and embodied the ancient japanese ideal of feminine beauty.

and i love the kimonos and their hairstyles, though i admit the white make-up is kinda intersting in that it emphasizes the eyes and lips and the fabric of the kimono, but it also kinda reminds me of a blank canvas on which the customer could write his own desires or whatever...

The essence of a geisha. How much does one charge nowadays for entertainment ? I heard that only big businesses could afford one today. 😊
 
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I think there is some misunderstanding about geisha/geiko and maiko, plus the whole makeup and kimono look thing;
a. A maiko is a geisha in training, they are usually quite young and almost always look like this although their hairstyle, obi style and kimono/furisode style will be altered slightly to the different events of the year or the maiko's life;
mod_maiko_014.jpg

For example when they are off work and doing stuff doing their free time, they will wear normal yukata with no makeup or fancy hairstyle or anything and look just like any other normal young girl. Maiko wear furisode(long sleaved kimono) with a large obi usually done in the darari style- maiko obi can be up to 5metres long, the colors a maiko wears are also often very bright and eye-catching.
When a maiko becomes a geiko(or more commonly known as geisha), her style of dress becomes waaay plainer, and her makeup is less vibrant, especially as she gets older as well she will no longer wear long or brightly kimono, and the white makeup will not be worn unless on a specific special occasion- most of the time she will look just like any other ordinary woman in kimono.
vcp_geisha_012.jpg

vcp_geisha_014.jpg

When you look at maiko and geiko there are a huge amount of differences in their appearance- from hairstyle, kimono and obi style, colors worn, makeup and even geta/zori worn.
One thing a geisha or maiko should never be mistaken for is an oiran or tayuu, which no longer exist as they were prostitutes and prostitution was banned in japan after WW2- many prostitutes during WW2 sold themselves off to american troops telling them they were "geisha" as the americans were so entranced with the geisha thing, but usually couldn't tell a normal lady in kimono apart from a geisha even if one poked them in the eye- unfortunatly many gaijin still cant distinguish a geisha apart from a normal lady in kimono even to safe their lives.
The geisha and maiko look is about many things, from beauty, karma, grace, sophisication, tradition, tranquility, cuteness and maturity etc etc...
I cant put my finger on what exactly i like about the maiko and geiko/geisha look, i even like makeup...I suppose its the way an adult geiko so gracefully wears even the plainest of kimono, and how beautifully the darari style obi can flow on a young maiko 😌 .
If you go to japan you are way more likely to see tourists being dressed up as geisha or maiko rather than see true geisha or maiko- the geisha and maiko way of life is extremely busy and hectic and most will be at school training or running errands during the day time- I cant remember who said it about the ugly geisha asking to take their photograph with him, but real geisha would never do that unless you asked them to in the first place; plus if they were old geisha they most likely wouldn't do it all simply out of dignity- i think you got fooled 😊 .
Geisha are a living national treasure of Japan, they were some of the first women to give help give other women rights and independance in japanese society and fought against the image that being a successful woman wasn't just about getting married to some rich guy and having loads of babys.
They helped japan throughout many of its wars in many ways, for example one hanamachi in gion donated 2 planes to the war effort while others made comfort box gifts to be sent to the front lines for the troops to keep their spirits up- the boxs contained things like traditional lucky charms, food and comforst like magazines.
They entertained men with their artistic skills and talents and helped boost the economy in many ways as well as help forge friendships and bonds between many powerful companys and in turn help create jobs for many people, even those who were not directly connected to the geisha, ochayas, or hanamachis.
Japan owes alot to the geisha :) .
 
I don't find geisha nearly as mesmerising at a pack of girls running around at a matsuri in yukata or kimono, as recently in the seijin no hi, comming of age day---

http://mdn.mainichi-msn.co.jp/photospecials/graph/090106comingofage/

Memoirs of a Geisha/Sayuri was pretty to look at, but it wasn't that great of a geisha movie--- I'm not sure if had it been more authentic that it would have been more interesting to me, but it was more like a modern love story wedged into a pseudo-geisha theme with a good deal of characters who awkwardly bounced back and forth between their real accents and a sort of forced fake Japanese accent---
 
I prefer chicks with no make-up or little mark up. Too much of it will mask their beauty (or lack thereof). With too much make up, sometime you cannot see if a person is a man or woman (I am going too extreme here to some extent).
 
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I think the major appeal of geisha is the unatainability, their not for sale except for company (at least real geisha).

I guess its the japanese take on rich westerners surrounding themselves with the company of beautiful well dressed women.

In japan its simply a more traditionalised ritualised version.

No poxy little joe-public can afford an evening with a geisha keeping him and his friends company at the drinks/lunch table.
 
nurizeko said:
No poxy little joe-public can afford an evening with a geisha keeping him and his friends company at the drinks/lunch table.
As far as I know, geisha popularity has descreased to the point that some westerners, who would not be close to being called 'wealthy', employ the few remaining 'geisha for hire'... Unless things have changed since the few years ago that I had seen the documentary on the scant few younger woman who were employed as geisha...

It's easier nowadays to work in the mizu shoubai (water trade) as a hostess, which has been popular regardless for a long time---
 
Geisha and maiko do very well money wise in todays world, of course if you are untalented or untrustworthy as a geisha you will never get paid much and will be forced to quit the profession, although i think that goes for most jobs in life- im not sure how many yen there is to the pound or dollar, but i believe the average teenage maiko makes about 10 or 20,000 yen a day.

The reason why maiko and geisha wear so much make up is to quite literally put on the image/appearance of wearing a mask- as far as i know, they do this because it was believed it made the man think more about the woman hiding undernief that mask when he was talking to her- it basically made them appear more mysterious and special than the average woman, and of course, pale skin has always been a sign of beauty or the upper class in japan.
The whole white makeup thing seems to many, something that is inidividual to japan, but in reality we the English have also gone through many phases in our history of putting white makeup on to make ourselves look more attractive.
 
compairing a Geisha with a Clown? haha

Thank god they don't wear the same kind of shoes:p
clown-1.jpg

kurokami.jpg
 
hehe i just thought about it more and yeah clown is a bit too much... they look just like mimes. in a very nice clothes though :)
mimbothemimeartist11qw-1.jpg
 
...we wont have any more proffesional prostitutes trained in pleasing men in all manners. Too bad we will get rid of a symbol that treats women as mere objects for the pleasure of men. Yeah so sad actually, 90 of them left, buhuhuh, im gona cry a river, i hope they are still around in japan next time i go around so that they can play tunes and act in front of me when all i need really is just sm good seuxal relaxation. AT least cheap hostess ladies are not faking who they are! A geisha is the same, just only pretends to be more high class, like that stereotypical french ***** who stinks but puts a lot of parfume on to smell nice. yeah Women ar Women, ugly and beautiful, so why not accept them for who they are, why make them still live up to sm aracheic and stupid standard.


Geishas are not prostitutes. Memoirs of a Geisha the book has been denounced as being an inaccurate depiction of the life of a geiko. Iwasaki (the real retired geisha) which the character of the book Sayuri is based on was particularly offended by the novel's portrayal of a geiko engaging in ritualized prostitution.


Iwasaki received several death threats and was accused of dishonoring her profession for her involvement with Memoirs of a Geisha. Iwasaki and Golden (the author of Memoirs of the Geisha) settled out of court for an undisclosed sum of money.:nihonjin: :japanese:


A profession similar to that of the geisha existed in imperial China, whose job it was to entertain male guests with their talents in music, go, calligraphy, painting and other arts. However, they did not enjoy the status accorded to geisha in Japan.:chinese:


Memoirs of a Geisha/Sayuri was pretty to look at, but it wasn't that great of a geisha movie--- I'm not sure if had it been more authentic that it would have been more interesting to me, but it was more like a modern love story wedged into a pseudo-geisha theme with a good deal of characters who awkwardly bounced back and forth between their real accents and a sort of forced fake Japanese accent---


I don't know why people put so much emphasis on Chinese actresses playing Japanese geishas; :snore: there are numerous examples of similar behaviour from white actors who play European characters interchangeably. For examples in "The Terminal" Tom Hanks plays an Eastern immigrant from Krakozhia without a country. Tom Hanks is not from Krakozhia. In "Titanic" Kate Winslet plays an American she is in fact British. In "The hours" Nicole Kidman covered up her Aussie accent and plays an English suicidal woman during 1900-1920s and so on.
 
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