Roxana Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I can't claim to be an expert on Geisha after
> reading a couple of books but the hairdoes in the
> photo are definitely wrong.

I thought that they looked a little toned down, too. It also said that the white makeup was gone, as well, which baffles me.

>
> I find it very difficult to believe there are
> *no* Japanese actresses capable of playing a
> Geisha.

There are plenty of Japanese actresses capable of playing a geisha. My husband made the observation that there are fewer well known Japanese actresses in comparison to Chinese. Still no excuse, really. Chiaki Kuriyami may not have a recognizable name but I'm certain many would recognize her from her role in Kill Bill (remember the cute killer in the school girl uniform?). Ryoko Hirosue is another Japanese actress whose career hasn't been confined to Japan. She starred in Luc Besson's Wasabi, opposite Jean Reno as his daughter. Yet, neither of them are in the film. To be fair, perhaps neither of these two actresses speak English very well but my hubby and I tend to think that the filmmakers went for recognizable faces as opposed to authenticity.

>
> Geisha are very touchy about the prostitution
> thing, and rightly so. Geisha sold their skills as
> entertainers not their bodies. Now it is true that
> in the bad old days a novice Geisha (Maiko) would
> be ceremonially deflowered by a client before
> starting her career, (this is no longer done). And
> it is also true that Geisha sometimes become the
> mistresses of important or wealthy men but they -
> and I - feel there is a difference between being
> kept by one man and selling yourself to many. BTW
> this practice too is supposed to have died out.

Yes, they are and they have every right to be. It is so demeaning compared to what they actually are. I think that is something that is very hard for people outside of Japanese culture to understand--that a Japanese man would seek out a beautiful and talented woman to spend time with as a companion, nothing more. There is kind of similiar activities that go on outside of geisha cultured, called "compensated dating". It can be simply a pretty girl being paid to go to a karaoke bar with an older man. However, it can quickly spiral down into prostitution because there is no social control. There's a movie called Love & Pop that examines compensated dating. We own it but haven't had the opportunity to watch it yet. The idea is still there, however, of men seeking the company of attractive women just for company's sake and to simply be seen with a pretty girl. This is something that I think cultures outside of Japan have trouble understanding. Compensated dating, however, lacks the social controls that the geisha culture has and, therefore, it is hard to compare the girls that do this as modern day geishas but on a small level, they seem to be in the companion sense.

Stephanie





In every man there is something wherein I may learn of him, and in that I am his pupil.--Ralph Waldo Emerson



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/30/2005 05:14PM by Stephanie.