What are geisha?
Geisha are women whose profession is to entertain guests in a tatami-matted room at Japanese-style restaurants and other similar establishments. They perform traditional Japanese arts such as dancing, playing the shamisen (a three-stringed Japanese musical instrument), and playing/singing musical accompaniments. Geishas can be 18 to 80 years old. An apprentice geisha is called Maiko in Kyoto and Hangyoku in Tokyo. It is believed that there are fewer than 10,000 geisha in Japan today, so certainly, not all Japanese women are geisha. Some people can form the wrong impression of a geisha’s occupation, because geisha are women while their guests are usually men, but it is true that geisha are purely professional artistes who entertain guests by performing traditional arts.
