Watercolor Geisha by Kei Phillips

Male or female? By 1800, being a geisha was considered a female occupation (though there are still a handful of male geisha working today). Eventually, the gaudy Oiran began to fall out of fashion, becoming less popular than the chic (“iki”) and modern geisha. By the 1830s, the evolving geisha style was emulated by fashionable women throughout society. There were many different classifications and ranks of geisha. Some women would have sex with their male customers, whereas others would entertain strictly with their art forms. Prostitution was legal up until the 1900s, so it was practiced in many quarters throughout Japan.

Geisha makeup is easy to imitate, and you don’t have to go as far as the full white makeup to get a great effect. A simple base of foundation that is on the lighter side will do fine, although you can certainly get white Halloween face makeup if you prefer. Bright red lipstick and dark black eye liner and eyebrows are the finishing touches to your Geisha look. If you love to play with makeup, spend some time creating a cat-like look with black eyeliner. The effect will be stunning with a Geisha costume.

Traditionally, Geisha began their training at a very young age. Some girls were bonded to geisha houses (okiya) as children. These girls were referred to as hangyoku and were as young as nine years old. This was not a common practice in reputable districts and disappeared in the 1950s with the outlawing of child labor. Daughters of geisha were often brought up as geisha themselves, usually as the successor (atotori, meaning “heir” or “heiress” in this particular situation) or daughter-role (musume-bun) to the okiya.

The majority of women were wives who did not work outside of their familial duties. Becoming a geisha was a way for women to support themselves without becoming a wife. Thus, geisha women live in a strictly matriarchal society. Women dominate. Women run the geisha houses, they are teachers, they run the teahouses, they recruit aspiring geisha, and they keep track of geishas’ finances. The only major role men play in geisha society is that of guest, though women sometimes take that role as well.

For the first three years, a maiko wears this heavy makeup almost constantly. During her initiation, the maiko is helped with her makeup either by her onee-san, or “older sister” (an experienced geisha who is her mentor), or by the okaa-san, or “mother” of her geisha house. After this, she applies the makeup herself…

Indeed, a geisha’s appearance changes throughout her career, from the girlish, heavily made-up maiko, to the more sombre appearance of an older established geisha. Different hairstyles and hairpins signify different stages of a girl’s development and even a detail as minute as the length of one’s eyebrows is significant. Short eyebrows are for the young and long eyebrows display maturity.