Evening star., 1902-08-14
GEISHA GIRLS OF JAPAN
SOCIAL STATUS OF PROFESSIONAL
ENTERTAINERS.
Trained to Sing. Dance and Converse
Many Become Wives Of
Great Men.

from Japan and America.
"Geisha," the professional girl entertainer
Of Japan. is by no means to be confounded
with "Geinin.' The word Geisha really
means actor, gel meaning a play or en-
tertainment Of any sort; and ''sha' means
person. For instance. i-sha means phys
ican, and so on. The word really means
what actor does in English but it has
come to mean only those girls in Japan
who are trained to entertain by dancing
and singing to the shamisen and koto. the
usual musical instruments for light enter
tainments; and they are also trained to
converse agreeably on topics Of the day.
"Ge;nin," on the other hand, while it real
ly means the same thing as Geisha, has
now come to be applied to artists, in a
higher sense.
The name thus given to a class of women.
though 1t seems perfectly respectable
one, does, in fact, sound otherwise to the
ears of Japanese. 1t is not in their oc-
cupation, in a legitimate sense, that Geisha
are undesirable to have in a well-disciplin-
ed home, but in a certain unpleasant repu-
taton that is naturally due to the crcum-
stance of their calling.
To Entertain Men.
The Geisha are trained to entertain men,
and not their own sex. They are the pro-
fessionaI entertainers of the cities of the
empire and are well paid for their services.
The women of Japan, unlike those of west
ern countries, have little part in social
functions and the enjoyments of the men
are not shared by their wives and daugh-
ters. When a man or a party of men wish
to arrange some social entertainment they
expect the amusement of the occasion to
be furnished by pretty and altogether
charming Geisha. Generally these affairs
are held in tea houses. and 1t is customary
to engage certain Geisha, who are generally
known by what would be called in the
western world their stage names. These
are names of flowers, gems, seasons, or in
deed anything of great beauty and attract
iveness, and are generally known as flow
er names" Such names are o Kiku San.
which means the Honorable Miss Chrys-
anthemum;" or Tama San. which is the
Honorable Miss Jewell" or o Haru San,
the Honorable Miss Spring" The "O,"
which means honorable" Is used only be-
fore words of one or two syllables. Miss
Camellia,'' for instance, would be Tsubaki
San, merely.
Charm of Geisha-
These girls are possessed of wonderful
charm and play havoc with the hearts of
the young men CT Toxic and the other cit
les. Many of them marry distinguished
men, and the wives of some Of the most
prominent men in Japan today We're
Geisha. They are especially alluring to the
young Colege man or Japan. Some of the
universities have found it necessary to
| make very strict rules in regard to the stu
| dents consorting with the Geisha, and some
forbid it entirely.
The Geisha make a very pretty show in
the gay life of the cities, as they are trained
to bear themselves well and be vivacious at
all times, and they dress luxuriously and
in exquisite style. They have the principal
boxes at theaters and at all public places.
But they have no social rank They do not
form, as is too often supposed by western
ers, class of demi-mondaine, as that class
is known in London, Paris and New York;
but they considered entirely too free
in their manners to be admitted into good
society.
1t is probable that the Geisha will disap-
pear before the enfranchisement of women
in Japan. Formerly the Japanese woman
was not permitted to take part In social en-
tertainment and this function fell to the
professional entertainer. Men found the
Geisha far more amusing than the women
of their own acquaintances in society, and
this led to the creation Of this peculiar
class. Now that education Is accomplishing
for woman in Japan what it has accom-
plished for woman in France, England and
America. it is evident that the day of the
Geisha Is passing. 1t needs only an oppor-
tunity for development to show that the
musume, the Japanese girl, can be as en-
tertatning and as interesting the most
charming Geisha of Kyoto-which has at
tanned the bad eminence Of producing the
most beautiful and entertaining Geisha In
| the Japanese empire.