Geisha...

Geisha... at the slightest evacation of this little Japanese word there appears instantly before the eys of Westeners a succession of images swaying gently between languorous voluptuousness and erotic fantasy. A profusion of kimonos and fans creased like the wings of a butterfly; hints of flesh and pearly shoulders discerned through the gauze of mosquito netting or from behind a diaphanous silk screen...Delicate and lascivious necks bowing under the weight of a jet-black chignon; woman-doll with a pale, round face punctuated by a mouth as tiny as a cherry lost on an ocean of milk... And yet, she is hardly far from being a simple "creature" destined to satisfy carnal pleasures of men, the "geisha", on her own sums up the quintessence of Japanese refinement. A source of inspiration for print artists who took the delicate curve of a shoulder, the roundeness of a breast and the delicacy of a neck to satiation, she embodies, above all, the ideal "Woman". This intelligent and cultured courtesan is simultaneously musician, poet and dancer. Westeners prefer to celebrate in her myth of the girl-woman, midway between spouse and doll... [extracted from: Geishas by Berenice Geoffroy-Schneiter]


[pictures courtesy of ImmortalGeisha.com]

What is hidden behind this pretty little word "geisha" whose etymology seems so reassuring? In Japanese, the root "gei" means "arts", therefore any geisha must, first of all, be an "artist". Was not her education entirely devoted to the worship of Beauty in all its forms? While the geishas of today flap their heavy geta on the asphalt of big cities, they remian nonetheless pathetic phantoms, torn bewteen nostalgic past and a dyed-in-the-wool modernism. Their kimonos have been accessorized with a Vuitton bag, while the Shiseido shopkeepers have definitely replaced the old rouge and paint on their cosmetic shelves.. Better, perhaps, to follow advice of the great Junichiro Tanizaki - to observe the aritificial beauty of the geishas only through "the flickering of candles and oil lamps."