On Jan 14, 2004, at 8:38 AM, �ric Ch�nard wrote:
> If I may. Geishas definitely were active during the Sengoku Jidai.
> They were
> "stationed" in a special urban area (some kind of a red light sector)
> and
> regrouped in houses (same system as today).
> Their role should not however be associated with that of a "super
> ninja" or
> have any political implications... to my opinion, their presence in
> Total
> War is not welcome.
>
> Eric
(1) Again: geisha were NOT active in the Sengoku period. Here is what
the Kodansha Encyclopedia of Japan has about their history: "The geisha
system emerged around the mid-Edo (=Tokugawa) period (1600�1868). The
first geisha were male entertainers and thus the first such women were
designated onna (female) geisha. Gradually such entertaining became a
female occupation. By the 1700s the profession of geisha was associated
with the government-licensed brothel quarters. From the end of the Edo
period to the present, geisha have had considerable connection with
politics, as the teahouses provided convenient gathering places for
political meetings. Geisha find it professionally in their interest to
be closemouthed about what goes on at these gatherings, but even so,
opposition factions seldom patronize the same geisha."
--- So, as you see, they are a 18th c. phenomenon, as I wrote in a
previous message.
(2) The areas you mention, the Pleasure Quarters as well, were
organized once again during the Tokugawa period. The whole popular
genroku cultured emerged from such settlements.
(3) Geisha had played an important role politically, during the Meiji
Restoration, and even in more recent times in 20th c. Tokyo (tea
politics).
(4) Finally, I believe is a good idea to point out how today's geisha
(and maiko) are NOT prostitutes, but high-class entertainers. While
sexual services were a part of their work in the past, they had always
been different from ordinary prostitutes, for the simple reason that
geisha are trained in the traditional arts - prostitutes are not.
Today's geisha are professional musicians and dancers, and testimonial
of a disappearing past. I know a few of them personally, and I can
guarantee they're fantastic women, whose lives are dedicated to art -
not to selling their bodies.
cepo
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