Search - geisha

 
 
Japan Times
CULTURE
Nov 25, 2017

Japan's geisha battle to protect their future

A handful of traditional female entertainers across the country are experimenting with innovative ways of preserving their culture.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Jun 29, 2008

Sayuki: Aussie geisha speaks out

What a titillating sound bite it is: Japan's first gaijin (foreigner) geisha!
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Jun 9, 2013

A world of flowers and willows in Kyoto's geisha districts

'No matter what happens / I am in love with Gion. / Even when I sleep, / Beneath my pillow / The waters ripple.'
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 30, 2007

'Hannari — Geisha Modern'

Over the years, many people have asked me why I bother to review Japanese films, when so few non-Japanese-speaking foreigners can fully appreciate them.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Jan 30, 2004

Atami hosts traditional geisha performances for tourists on a budget

Atami's geisha have created a more affordable performance collection for tourists who want to experience traditional Japanese culture on a budget.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Jul 1, 2012

Lesley Downer: Love, war and geisha

Lesley Downer's seven books range widely in genre and subject. Here she reflects on their inspiration and her experiences writing them.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Dec 9, 2017

'Now a Geisha' follows the graduation of an apprentice maiko

Shelves of books on geisha are already overflowing, but "Now A Geisha" still deserves a space.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 17, 2014

'My Fair Lady' wrapped in a geisha's kimono

The musical used to be among the rarest of Japanese film genres. Plenty of films here — going back to the early talkies — featured singing and dancing, but Broadway-style musicals, which integrate the songs into the story, never really caught on.
Japan Times
Events / Events In Tokyo
Mar 1, 2013

Rare chance to see Tokyo geisha

Being a talented conversationalist is a vital part of the skill set of any accomplished hostess. The same goes for top-class geisha. Veteran geisha Ikuko, for example, recalls scouring newspapers avidly for potential conversation topics, dining with her apprentices every morning, and even frequenting...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Jul 25, 2008

Kyoto's geisha: Behind the sliding door

A waitress took our drink orders and we waited, my anticipation building by the moment. Suddenly the door slid open and there knelt Ms. Ichimame, our maiko entertainer for the evening. She bowed deeply and introduced herself, smiling slightly.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional voices: Chubu
Jan 14, 2019

Torn between airplanes and Japanese arts, former Air Self-Defense Force officer debuts as geisha in Gifu

A 32-year-old woman who used to serve in the Air Self-Defense Force debuted last month as a geiko — another term used to refer to geisha — in Gifu, a city known for having a unique tradition of entertaining guests on riverboats with geisha performances and ukai cormorant fishing.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital
Jan 28, 2021

Geisha-turned-YouTuber Kimono Mom taps into the heart of parenting

The life of a geisha in Japan is often perceived as being shrouded in mystery, the exact opposite of what you'd imagine life is like for a YouTuber. It's a contradiction that “Kimono Mom” knows well.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 27, 2017

Small Japanese credit union outperforms mega-banks by lending to geisha and local startups

Kikuno Kashima, a Tokyo geisha, couldn't get a bank loan to open a club for her patrons and select guests until a tiny credit union agreed to lend her the money. Now she's part of a lending model that's doling out cash to startup companies and yielding surprisingly high profits in the process.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES
Mar 9, 2019

Kafu Nagai's 'Geisha in Rivalry' abounds with scheming, manipulation and, yes, sex

Although this edition of 'Geisha in Rivalry' is a translation of a censored version of the more racy original, it represents Nagai's rediscovery of the fast-disappearing traditional culture of Japan.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES
Oct 17, 2015

'Little Songs of the Geisha' collected by an American anthropologist

The label kouta (which roughly translates as, "little song") has been applied to any number of popular Japanese music forms over the centuries. But these days, the word usually refers to a specific genre of shamisen music that evolved in 19th-century Edo (present-day Tokyo) from existing popular styles,...
Japan Times
SATOYAMA CONSORTIUM
Dec 23, 2019

Hakone geisha events among tech venture’s global tourism efforts

Watching kimono-clad geisha gracefully dance to traditional music and joining in games all the while enjoying Japanese cuisine and sake — for non-Japanese interested in traditional Japanese culture, such entertainment might very well be the pinnacle of traditional experiences.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jan 16, 2004

Your geisha fantasy fulfilled

It was high time for a break from the pressures of jobs and family.
Events
May 1, 2001

'Memoirs of a Geisha' muse vents spleen at author

KYOTO -- Arthur Golden's "Memoirs of a Geisha" sold over 4 million copies and lingered on the New York Times best seller list for 58 weeks. The story of a country girl sold into virtual slavery who rises to become one of Japan's most celebrated geisha captivated the world.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Jul 1, 2012

Author Lesley Downer's romance with Japan is no fleeting affair

British writer, historian and journalist Lesley Downer has been visiting Japan and writing about it for nearly 35 years — beginning in 1978, when she was part of the first-ever intake of the English Teaching Recruitment Program, which evolved into the famous JET (Japan Exchange and Teaching Program)...
BUSINESS
Aug 29, 2009

In 'sinking world,' geisha turn barmaids

In the stifling summer heat at the roadside Yebisu Beer stall in Kyoto's Gion district, Sakiko, dressed in a thick floral kimono, face plastered in white makeup, looks flustered as two foreign tourists photograph her. "Pouring beer here is different but fun," said Sakiko, one of about 90 apprentice geisha,...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 28, 2003

Celebrated geisha's tell-all a hot item

The mystery of the geisha, with their painted faces and elaborate kimono, has long been a source of fascination for people worldwide. But it has also led to fantasies and misunderstandings about their true roles.
Discovered in the 1930s, the Geisha coffee plant came to worldwide fame in the early 2000s and now represents some of the best coffee on the planet — Tokyo's top cafes included.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Nov 30, 2024

The Geisha bean is the leading lady of Tokyo's coffee scene

Named for a region of Ethiopia (and not Japan’s kimono-clad performers), Geisha has become the crown jewel of Tokyo’s flourishing specialty coffee scene.
Visitors will be banned from entering private alleys in Kyoto's famous geisha district, Gion, after the district council urged the city to tackle the issue, saying their neighborhood "is not a theme park."
JAPAN / Society
Mar 7, 2024

Tourists banned from private alleys in Kyoto's geisha district

Gion's main Hanamikoji Street, which is public, will remain open to tourists.

Longform

The National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation in Tokyo is a popular place to foster curiosity in the natural sciences.
Can Japan's scientific community rebound from a Nobel nosedive?