Description: This is a Vintage Original 1953 PHOTO of a GEISHA GIRL as seen in a POSTCARD. Geisha (芸者) also known as geiko (芸子) or geigi (芸妓), are a class of female Japanese performing artists and entertainers trained in traditional Japanese performing arts styles, such as dance, music and singing, as well as being proficient conversationalists and hosts. Their distinct appearance is characterised by long, trailing kimono, traditional hairstyles and oshiroi make-up. Geisha entertain at parties known as ozashiki, often for the entertainment of wealthy clientele, as well as performing on stage and at festivals. Modern geisha are not prostitutes. Though the ceremony of mizuage – the loss of a maiko's virginity to a paying patron – took place historically as part of the transition from apprentice to geisha, this no longer takes place, and was abolished under the Prostitution Prevention Law of 1956. Despite some geisha also historically engaging in prostitution, this also no longer takes place, and has never been an official part of the geisha profession, with laws historically separating the two professions. The misconception that geisha are prostitutes also originated from Western conflations of Japanese courtesans (oiran), modern-day oiran reenactors, the extant tayū, and prostitutes, who historically also wore kimono. The first female geisha appeared in 1751, with geisha before that time being male performers who entertained guests within the pleasure quarters; only later did the profession become mainly characterised by female workers World War II brought lasting change to the geisha profession; before the war, geisha numbers, despite seeing competition from jokyū (café girls, the precursor to the bar hostess profession in Japan), had been as high as 80,000, however, following the closure of all geisha districts in 1944, mostly all geisha had been conscripted into the war effort proper, with many finding work in factories or elsewhere through customers and patrons. Though geisha returned to the karyūkai relatively quickly after the war, many had decided to stay on in their wartime jobs, considering it to be a more stable form of employment. Both during and after the war, the geisha name lost some status, as some prostitutes began referring to themselves as "geisha girls" to members of the American military occupying Japan. The status of geisha in Japanese society also changed drastically after the war. Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, much discussion had taken place surrounding the status of geisha in a rapidly-Westernising Japanese society. Some geisha had begun to experiment with wearing Western clothing to engagements, learning Western-style dancing, and serving cocktails to customers instead of sake. Size is about 3 1/2 x 4 1/2 item in FAIR as seen condition. PLEASE SEE PICS FOR CONDITION MULTIPLE PURCHASES CAN COMBINE SHIPPING
Price: 9.99 USD
Location: Kailua Kona, Hawaii
End Time: 2024-11-27T02:00:07.000Z
Shipping Cost: N/A USD
Product Images
Item Specifics
All returns accepted: ReturnsNotAccepted
Type: Photograph
Year of Production: 2004
Size: 4 x 6 in
Number of Photographs: 1
Theme: People
