geiko
professional entertainers trained in dance, music and hosting
芸者と舞妓（げいしゃとまいこ）
In one line
The shortest answer that works
A geisha is a professional entertainer trained in dance, music and the art of hosting a room.
芸者とは、踊り・音曲・座持ちを仕込まれた、もてなしの専門職です。
In 30 seconds
The standard explanation
A geisha is a woman who has trained for years in classical dance, the shamisen, song and conversation, and is paid to host a banquet. In Kyoto they are called geiko, and an apprentice is a maiko. The work is legal, licensed and performed in company: a group hires them for an evening. They are not sex workers, and saying so clearly is usually the first thing a visitor needs to hear.
芸者とは、日本舞踊・三味線・唄・座持ちを何年もかけて身につけ、宴席をもてなすために呼ばれる女性です。京都では芸妓（げいこ）と呼び、見習いを舞妓といいます。届け出のある正規の職業で、仕事は座敷で、客の側も一人ではなく連れ立って呼びます。性を売る仕事ではありません。外国の人にまず伝えるべきなのは、たいていここです。
As a short speech
A full paragraph you can read aloud
The word geisha is made of two characters meaning art and person, and that is the whole job: a person who has studied an art. A geisha trains for years in classical dance, the three-stringed shamisen, singing, and the much harder art of keeping a room of strangers comfortable.
In Kyoto the word is geiko, and a maiko is an apprentice, usually between fifteen and twenty, living in a house with an older woman who manages her. You hire them through the banquet house for an evening, for a group, and the entertainment is dance, music, conversation and drinking games.
I want to be direct about the misunderstanding, because it comes up every time. They are not prostitutes. In the Edo period the two trades were separate by law and by custom, and the confusion largely came later, from outside Japan.
芸者という語は「芸」と「者」でできていて、それが仕事のすべてです。芸を修めた人、という意味です。芸者は何年もかけて日本舞踊、三味線、唄、そしてもっと難しい、初対面の人ばかりの座をなごませる芸を身につけます。
京都では芸妓と呼び、舞妓はその見習いで、たいてい15歳から20歳、置屋の女将のもとに住み込みます。呼ぶときはお茶屋を通して、一晩、何人かの客で。出てくるのは踊り、音曲、話、そしてお座敷遊びです。
誤解については率直に言っておきます。毎回出る話だからです。娼婦ではありません。江戸時代には二つの仕事は法でも慣習でも分けられていて、混同はむしろ後に、日本の外から広まりました。
Questions people actually ask
And how to answer them.
QHow long does it take to become one?
A maiko trains for about five years before becoming a full geiko, and the lessons never stop after that. Dance teachers in this world are often people in their seventies and eighties.
舞妓はおよそ5年の修業を経て芸妓になり、そのあとも稽古は終わりません。この世界の踊りの師匠には、70代80代の人が珍しくありません。
QHow do you tell a maiko from a geiko?
A maiko wears a long trailing obi, tall wooden clogs, and flowers in her own hair. A geiko wears a shorter obi, plainer hair, usually a wig, and much less decoration.
舞妓は帯を長く垂らし、高い下駄をはき、地毛に花のかんざしをつけます。芸妓は帯が短く、髪は多くがかつらで、飾りはずっと控えめです。
QAre there male geisha?
Yes, historically the first geisha were men, and a small number of male entertainers called taikomochi still work today. They are now rare enough that most Japanese people have never met one.
います。もともと芸者は男の仕事から始まり、幇間（太鼓持ち）と呼ばれる男性の芸者がいまも数人います。あまりに少なく、日本人でも会ったことのない人がほとんどです。
A common misunderstanding
MYTHGeisha are prostitutes in kimono.
FACTThey are licensed performers paid to dance, play music and host. In the Edo period the licensed pleasure quarters and the geisha trade were kept legally separate.
Phrases you can use
- Geisha means a person who has studied an art.芸者とは、芸を修めた人という意味です。
- In Kyoto they're called geiko, and apprentices are maiko.京都では芸妓と呼び、見習いは舞妓です。
- They're hired to host a dinner, for a group.何人かの客の宴席をもてなすために呼ばれます。
- They are performers, not sex workers.芸を売る仕事で、性を売る仕事ではありません。
- A maiko trains about five years.舞妓は5年ほど修業します。
Words you need
- banquet, a room hired for a partyお座敷
- apprentice見習い
- three-stringed lute三味線
- classical Japanese dance日本舞踊
- hairpin ornamentかんざし
Watch
From YouTubeBackground (Japanese)
最初の芸者は男性で、幇間（ほうかん・太鼓持ち）と呼ばれた。女性の芸者が現れるのは18世紀の半ばごろとされる。江戸では「芸者」、京都では「芸妓（げいこ）」と呼び分ける。舞妓の帯は「だらりの帯」といって5メートルを超え、置屋の紋が入っている。底の厚い履物「おこぼ」は高さが10センチを超え、歩くと音が鳴る。舞妓は地毛で髪を結うため、首の負担を避けて高い木の枕で眠る。