page_title: Geisha
section_title: Terms
hierarchical_section_title: Geisha / Terms
caption_attribution_description: English: Shikomi (left) is walking along with maiko Takamari. Most likely of Kaida okiya in Gion Kobu. 日本語: 仕込みは孝まりの舞妓と一緒に歩いている。 Русский: Сикоми (слева) сопровождает майко Такамари.
context_page_description: Geisha, geiko, or geigi are female Japanese entertainers who perform traditional Japanese artforms, such as traditional dance and singing. They are characterised by their distinct appearance of long, trailing kimono, traditional hairstyles and the oshiroi makeup they wear.
  Contrary to popular belief, geisha are not sex workers - a misconception in the West originating from foreigners confusing geisha with oiran and other sex workers, all of whom historically wore kimono, despite the differences in their styles of dress and appearance.
context_section_description: The word "geisha" consists of two kanji, 芸 (gei) meaning "art" and 者 (sha) meaning "person" or "doer". The most literal translation of "geisha" in the English language would be "artist", "performing artist" or "artisan". Another regional term for geisha with a slightly different meaning is "geiko", a term used to describe geisha in Western Japan, including Kyoto and Kanazawa. This term directly translates as "woman of art", and is part of the Kyoto dialect spoken by geisha in Kyoto and Western Japan.
  Apprentice geisha are known as maiko (舞妓), a term translating to "woman of dance". In some regions of Japan such as Tokyo, apprentices are known instead as han-gyoku (半玉), meaning "half-jewel", referring to one of the terms for a geisha's wages - "jewel money". The two stages before an apprentice officially debuts as a maiko are known as shikomi (仕込みさん, "preparation" or "training"), followed by a minarai (見習い, "learning by observation") period. During the minarai period, an apprentice will receive training through one specific teahouse, referred to as the minarai-jaya.
  A number of terms are used to describe the profession and community that geisha both live and work in. Though each has its own distinct meaning and translation, some are used interchangeably to describe the geisha community on the whole, such as hanamachi and karyūkai.
  Karyūkai - lit., the "flower and willow world" (花柳界). Before the decline and eventual disappearance of oiran, this term referred to the entertainment districts (and overall "world") of both geisha and courtesans - oiran were the "flowers" in this phrase, ostensibly for their beautiful and showy appearance, with geisha being the subtler and more graceful "willows".
  Hanamachi - lit. "flower town" (花街), the district where a geisha works, is affiliated, and potentially lives. Geisha generally do not work outside of their hanamachi, though customers may call them for special occasions in other districts, or on excursions - however far away - to places outside the karyūkai. Engagements not held in licensed restaurants, teahouses or a geisha's own hanamachi are known as todē, "distant outings".
  Kagai - lit., "five flower towns" (五花街). The five geisha districts of Kyoto; Gion Kobu and Gion Higashi, Ponto-chō, Miyagawa-chō and Kamishichiken. Kyoto previously had six hanamachi, with Shimabara, formerly a red light and geisha district, still being considered an active hanamachi as of 1970. In the present day, Shimabara is active only as a host for tayū re-enactors.
  Mizu shōbai - lit., "water business" (水商売). A euphemistic term previously used to describe the entertainment and red-light districts in Japan. In the present day, the mizu shōbai refers exclusively to the world of geisha and kabuki actors.
  Though geisha may not live within their hanamachi in day-to-day life, all geisha must be affiliated with an 置屋 (okiya) - a geisha lodging house. Okiya are usually run by women, many of whom are ex-geisha themselves. Though geisha may entertain guests within their okiya and at restaurants or inns, they will usually work at an ochaya (お茶屋, lit., "teahouse"). Geisha will usually take engagements for part or the whole of an evening referred to as ozashiki (お座敷) - a term that combines the name for a banqueting room, zashiki (茶屋) and the honorific suffix "o-" (お), changing the meaning to a term exclusively referring to the engagements a geisha takes.
caption: A shikomi (left) accompanying the maiko Takamari of the Kaida okiya in Gion Kobu.
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