Who is the most famous geisha in history?

Mineko Iwasaki (岩崎 峰子/岩崎 究香, Iwasaki Mineko), birthname Masako Tanaka (田中 政子, Tanaka Masako, born 2 November 1949), is a Japanese businesswoman, author and former geisha. Iwasaki was the most famous geisha in Japan until her sudden retirement at the age of 29.
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What is the highest ranking geisha?

Ranking. At the pinnacle of the complex geisha ranking system are the grand dowagers of Kyoto. The gokagai of Kyoto are its five geisha districts, also known as hanamachi ("flower towns").
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Is Nitta Sayuri a real person?

Few of Kyoto's geisha have read Golden's book, but almost all are familiar with the fictional story of Sayuri Nitta, played by Zhang Ziyi, the daughter of a fisherman who is sold to a Kyoto teahouse as a child and becomes one of the most coveted geisha of her generation.
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Did geishas sell their virginity?

Geisha are not prostitutes, in the past, the right to take the virginity of a Geisha (mizuage) was sold by the Geisha house. In reality, it was more a sponsorship for the Maiko's training, which was really expensive. Only the very wealthy could pay for this right.
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Who was the highest paid geisha?

At the peak of her career in the 1970s, Mineko Iwasaki was probably the most famous and highest-earning geisha in Japan.
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5 Most Famous Geishas



What happens if a geisha became pregnant?

She would tell the kenban and her okaasan and probably her sisters, too, as generally, pregnancies are happy news and people want to share that. She could start working again at any point after the birth, she can decide herself when she wants to do that, but as far as I can tell, it's usually less than a year.
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Do geishas still exist?

Where does the geisha culture survive? Geisha can be found in several cities across Japan, including Tokyo and Kanazawa, but the former capital of Kyoto remains the best and most prestigious place to experience geisha, who are known there as geiko. Five major geiko districts (hanamachi) remain in Kyoto.
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How old was Sayuri when she became a geisha?

The story is told as an utterly convincing first-person narrative - from the day Sayuri is first sold to a geisha house in the infamous Gion district of Kyoto when she is just nine, through her apprenticeship and eventual graduation to becoming a geisha herself, and finally her departure into retirement in New York.
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Are geishas respected?

In Japan, geisha are very highly respected because they spend years training to learn the traditional instruments and dances of Japan. Although some western media portray geisha as prostitutes, that's just a myth.
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How much do geisha make?

It can be anywhere between $3K a month to tens of thousands of dollars for a popular geisha as she can also get gifts from her clients including expensive silk kimono and gems that cost more than 5 figures etc.. Geisha's salary is secret.
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Is life of a geisha a true story?

No, it is not based on a true story. However, a real geisha, named Mineko Iwasaki, sued the author of the book because of defamation. Surprisingly, not the plot, but some characters in the book resembled some of the real characters in Mineko Iwasaki's life that she shared with the author in a private conversation.
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What is a Danna geisha?

It was traditional in the past for established geisha to take a danna, or patron. A danna was typically a wealthy man, very rarely married, who had the means to support the very large expenses related to a geisha's traditional training and other costs. This sometimes occurs today as well, but very rarely.
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How accurate was Memoirs of a Geisha?

Sayuri, he says, is "wholly fictional." His novel is set mostly before World War II, when Gion was a different place than in the '60s and '70s, when Mineko earned her fame, Golden says. The plot and the circumstances of Sayuri did not resemble Mineko's life, he says.
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Who was the first geisha?

Around the mid-1700s some began referring to themselves as geisha, after the male performers. The first was a woman in Fukagawa called Kikuya, a prostitute who was also a skilled singer and shamisen player.
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Why did geishas sleep on rice?

Geishas and their maikos (apprentices) were so dedicated to the cause that to ensure that their heads didn't move from the head rest, they would spread sticky white rice on the floor.
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Is there a Chinese geisha?

While the geisha tradition continues in Japan, the remarkable Chinese courtesan culture has passed into history. Despite the claims of Mao Zedong to have eliminated prostitution, only the culture was eliminated. Today in China what are left are jinu, prostitutes who sell only their bodies, perhaps not even a smile.
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When did geisha end?

Geisha has been a predominantly female occupation since around 1800, and rose in popularity until World War II, when most women had to work in factories and other places in Japan. Around the same time, the term geisha lost some status due to prostitutes marketing themselves as “geisha girls” to American military men.
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Why do geishas have white faces?

The Colors of a Geisha

However, Peter Macintosh, who teaches geisha culture at Kansai University, adds: “They started wearing white makeup so their faces would reflect in the candle light.” Also, the younger the woman, the more red she wears.
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Are geishas concubines?

Only later did geishas become involved in sexual liaisons themselves, developing into what today might be called mistresses or concubines.
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How much did Sayuri sell her virginity for?

When she was 19, her virginity was sold for a record price at the time, around $850,000 in today's dollars. Ms. Iwasaki was able to give Mr. Golden crucial details about the daily rituals of geisha, though he did not base the character of Sayuri on her, he added.
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Did the geisha marry the chairman?

But when Nobu rejects Sayuri, the Chairman becomes her danna (a man who pays a geisha to be his long-term mistress). He does not marry her (he already has a family), but he pays all of her expenses and allows her to move to New York to open her teahouse and rear their son. He takes care of Sayuri until his death.
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Did the chairman have a wife in Memoirs of a Geisha?

The Chairman had two daughters with his wife and, during that summer, he arranges for his eldest daughter to marry a man named Minoru Nishioka. Without any sons, the Chairman hopes his new son-in-law will inherit the electric company.
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Why do geishas have black teeth?

At night, by candlelight, as in the case of geisha, a woman's face glimmered magically. Unpainted teeth would have looked unpleasantly yellow in contrast and the black lacquer helped hide the teeth, which may not have been in the best of shape. Black teeth were simply the norm.
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How many geisha are left?

Today there are only about 1,000 geisha in Japan. They can be found in several major cities including Tokyo, and Kanazawa but most of them work in Kyoto. They are often attending gatherings at tea houses and ryoutei —a kind of luxurious Japanese restaurant.
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Did geishas have tattoos?

The Geisha Tattoo

Worn by both men and women, these are usually very detailed and usually done in a larger size. In this article, we will discuss the various styles and meanings of the geisha tattoo.
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