The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1902-09-24
THE GEISHA GIRLS
WOMEN TRAINED TO ENTERTAIN
PEOPLE.
All Are Given Flower Names''-The
Part They Take in Life in Japan
Custom Will Die Out.

Custom viii Die Out.
"Geisha" the professional girl enter
tainer of Japan. is by no means to be
confined with "Geinin." The word Gel
sha really means actor, gel" meaning
a play or entertainment of any sort;
and "sha" means a person. For in
stance, i-sha means physician and so
on. The word really means what actor"
does in English, but ii 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 en-
tertainments; and they are also trained
to converse agreeably on topics of the
day. "Geinin," on the other hand,
while it really means the same thing
as Geisha, has now come to be APP
piled to artists, in a higher sense.
The name thus given to class of wo-
men, though it seems a perfectly res
pectable one, does, in fact, sound other
wise to the ears of a japanese. 1t is
not in their occupation, in a legitimate
sense, that Geisha are undesirable to
have in a well-disciplined home, but in
a certain unpleasant reputation that is
naturally due to the circumstance OF
their calling.
men, and not their own sex. They are
the professional entertainers of the
cities of the empire and are well paid
for their services. The women of Japan
unlike those of western countries, have
little part in social functions, and che
enjoyments of the men are not shared
by their wives and daughters. When a
man or a party of men wish to arrange
some social entertainment they expect
!, oC 81, l,a.
furnished by pretty and altogether
charmingGeisha. Generally these affairs
are held in tea houses and it is custo-
mary 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 indeed anything of
great beauty and attractiveness, and
are generally known as Flower names"
Such names are o Kiku San, which
means the Honorable Miss Chrysan-
themum," or o Tama San, which is the
Honorable Miss Jewel" or o Haru
| San the Honorable Miss Spring" The
49," which means honorable" is used
only before words of one or two sylla-
bles. Miss Camellia," for instance,
would be Tsubaki San, merely.
These girls are possessed of Won
ferful charm and play havoc with the
hearts of the young men of Toxic and
| the other cities. Many of them marry
distinguished men, and the wives of
| some of the most prominent men in
Japan today were Geisha. They are
| especially alluring to the young college
man of Japan. Some of the universities
| have found it necessary to make very
| strict rules in regard to the students
| 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 westerners a
| class of deini- mondaine, as that class Is
| known in London, Paris and New YORK;
but they are considered as entirely too
free in their manner to be admitted in
to good society.
II is PROBABLE that the Geisha will
disappear before the acknowledgements
of women in Japan. Formerly the ia
/ panese woman was not permitted to
| take part in social entertainment, and
! this function fell to the professional en-
tertainer 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 women in Japan what it has ac-
| complished for women in France Eng
land and America, it is evident that the
day of the Geisha is passing. 1t needs
only an opportunity for development to
show that the musume, the Japanese
girl, can be as entertaining and as in
al "a
of Kyoto-which has attained the bad
eminence of producing the most beauti-
tul and entertaining Geisha in the
Japanese empire.