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Information on Geiko (Geisha)

What Geisha Do
Arts and Training
(work-in-progress)

Appearances and Rank
Learn how to tell a maiko's seniority, if a maiko or geisha is real, and important transitional steps in their career.

Geimyo
About geisha names

Geisha Terminology
Some Japanese and Kyoto-ben Vocabulary

Outside Links

Immortal Geisha
This site has tons of information on geisha and pictures too! If you wish to research geisha and maiko this is where you want to come.

Recommended Reading
(coming soon!)

Geisha Terminology

There is going to be a large mix of Japanese words in my posts as well as others' posts, simply because it will be easier to use the Japanese terms. However through my writing I will be using both English and Japanese terms for things as best I can so, even if you do not know what a certain word means, you will not need to refer to this list every time. This list will grow as I think of definitions to add.

Also, some of these terms may not only be Japanese but specifically Kyoto dialect. When a young girl comes to Kyoto she must learn to speak in Kyoto dialect, quite different and softer than today's standard Japanese. The bottom of this page contains a small list of some standard phrases in Kyoto dialect.

Greetings/Departures:

Okoshiyasu – welcome
Oideyasu – May I help you? (said upon entering an ozashiki)
Ohayou gozaimasu / Ohayou san dosu – good morning (in Tokyo and Kyoto dialect respectively)
Konnichiwa – good day/afternoon
Konbanwa – good evening
Oyasumi nasai / Oyasumi yasu – good night (in Tokyo and Kyoto dialect respectively)
Jaa matta ne / jaa matta / matta ne – see you later
Ookini – Kyoto dialect ‘thank you’. Also is used among geiko and maiko as ‘excuse me’.
Arigatou gozaimasu – thank you. Standard Tokyo dialect.
douitashitemashite - thank you. Standard dialect.
otano moshimasu - begging your favor / asking your support

Ranks and Positions:

shikomi 仕込み – a servant in an okiya hoping to become a maiko and eventually geiko.
minarai 見習い – the second stage of a girl in training to become a maiko and eventually geiko. Minarai means learning by observing.
maiko 舞妓 – a geisha in training.
geiko 芸妓 – Kyoto dialect for “geisha”
okaasan お母さん - "Mother" of an okiya or ochaya
oneesan お姉さん - "older sister"
imoutosan 妹さん - "younger sister"
sempai /senpai 先輩 - older maiko or geiko whom you look up to
atotori – a geisha who is the heir to the okiya
tachikata – A geiko who is trained to specialize in dance and to play an instrument besides shamisen.
jikata – Jikata geisha are accompanists who are trained to specialize in playing shamisen (or another instrument) and sing.
temae - the role of one making tea during tea ceremony
ohikae - the role of one serving the tea at the ceremony. The ohikae will always be a younger maiko than the maiko or geiko doing the role of temae.
Gohiiki – a favorite customer
natori - dance master. A title rewarded to geiko who have become a master at a particular school of dance. When a geiko becomes a natori she has another geimyo used for performing her dances at recitals and big performances (not just regular ozashiki dances).

Places:

karyukai 花柳界– “the Flower and Willow world”
hanamachi 花町 – “flower town”
okiya 置屋 - house where geisha (geiko) and maiko live. Literally “lodging house”
ozashiki お座敷– the banquets or dinner parties in various ochaya.
ochaya お茶屋– tea house where maiko and geiko entertain at private parties for select groups of people.
Nyokoba / kaburenjo – special school where maiko and geiko train in their arts.
genkan - an entrance of a traditional Japanese building.
tokonoma -  a decorative enclave with a hanging scroll and plant to match the season.

Events and Rights of Passage:

osakazuki - the ritual in which san-san kudo (thrice three, nine times) is performed. San-san kudo is a ceremony binding two maiko and/or geisha as sisters. It involves exchanging cups of sake which both parties drink three times from three cups.
misedashi 店だし- debut as a maiko. Literally “open for business.”
mizuage 水揚げ– when a maiko transitions from wearing “wareshinobu” to ofuku hairstyle.
erikae 襟替え– ritual from maiko to geisha; they change their kimono style and switch from their real hair to wigs.
hiki iwai - ceremony, for when a geisha (or even maiko) departs from the Flower or Willow world.
ochaohiku - when a geiko or maiko is dressed up even though she has no schedueled appointments.
Rokkagai - refers to the five karyukai; when the five districts get together to put on group performances of their different dance styles in June.
Hatsugama - first tea ceremony of the year at the Urasenke Tea School, the most prestigious school of tea in Japan.

Arts and Instruments:

taiko – drums
kotsuzumi (sometimes just tsuzumi) – small shoulder drum
otsuzumi – knee drum (haven’t seen this played by geiko or maiko though)
shamisen – A Japanese musical instrument resembling a lute, having a very long neck and three strings played with a plectrum. The signature instrument of a geiko.
bachi - the plectrum used to play a shamisen
hosozao shamisen - "thin necked shamisen" those used by geiko.
yubi suri - a small cloth wrapped between thumb and forefinger to help the hand slide along the neck of a shamisen.
kouta – short lyrical songs accompanied by shamisen
fue – flute
ohayashi – Japanese percussion
Odori and Mai - There are two words for dance in Japanese. Odori is mostly used when referring to the annual or biannual dances like the Kamogawa Odori. Otherwise "mai" is used, like for ozashiki dances. Kyomai is "Kyoto style dance," the type of dancing geiko and maiko perform, while the often recognized term "nihonbuyo" means Japanese (traditional) dance.
ikebana - flower arrangement
chado - tea ceremony or "way of tea"
sensu - folding fan
uchiwa - a rounded fan
maiougi - a dance fan

Various Items:

mokuroku - the posters that are hung for wishing a maiko/geiko luck on misedashi (debut as a maiko) and erikae (graduation to a geiko). They are commissioned by customers, by fellow okiya members or other members of the karyukai.
onshukai – wooden geimyo plaques, they contain the names of the residents in the okiya they are hung on, as well as the okiya's mon (crest).
takamakura – “tall pillow” A wooden stand with a padded cradle for the neck. Maiko use these to sleep on as to not mess up their hair.
kago - kago are the bags carried by geisha and maiko. They have a silk decorated top with drawstrings but the base is woven and hard.
netsuke - a small, strapped charm or figure worn hanging out of the top of the obi.
senjafuda - a good luck charm.
goshugi - tips in white envelopes given to maiko and geiko from customers.

Clothes and Clothing Accessories:

kimono - Term used to refer to traditional Japanese clothing. Kimono actually means to wear something. If you don't know what kimono are by the time you're reading this, Google it!
obi -"belts" for kimono. From wiki: "Though there are many different types of kimono, obi are worn with all of them, and function both to keep the robe closed and in place on the body, and as decoration. Obi were traditionally made of silk, and silk is still the most traditional and formal material for obi."
obiage - this scarf is wrapped around the top of the obi, but goes underneath the obi tails in the back. It covers the obimakura (pillow) which gives the obi tails its uplift. A maiko's obiage is red with white-silver design.
obijime - this is a cord that is wrapped around the center or slightly lower than the center of the obi. On maiko it holds a decorate peice called an obidome.
obidome - a decorative brooch worn over the obijime in the center front. These can be made out of coral, silver, jade and other such materials.
juban -- under this category are hadajuban and nagajuban, it is worn as underwear for kimono. A hadajuban follows the lines of the kimono and is like a blouse. It’s worn under the nagajuban. A maiko's nagajuban has a white upper body, the collar is pure red and the sleeves and lower half (the skirt part) are red with white designs (or gold design for formal occasions). The maiko's hadajuban is also white with red collar and red around the sleeve hems.
michiyuki - a long coat worn over kimono for rainy or bad weather.
hikizuri / susohiki - a dancing kimono worn by maiko and geiko defined by its trailing hem.
chirikan - special tortoiseshell kanzashi only worn during misedashi.
miokuri - three metal strips, kanzashi worn only for misedashi, under the mage (bun).
oshiroi - the white face paint used my geisha and maiko.
kanzashi - these are all the hair ornaments used by geisha and maiko.
katsura - the proper term for a geisha's elaborate wig.
hana kanzashi - these are flower hair ornaments made out of silk.
kisetsubana - these are the hana kanzashi (flower kanzashi) that change every month.
shidare kanzashi - the dangling hair ornaments worn by first year maiko.
ougi bira - the fan shaped metal kanzashi with dangling strips of metal, worn above the right temple. The mon of the mako's okiya is designed into the metal.
ichidome - pin worn in the center of the bun for wareshinobu.
kanokodome - red silk frontal band tied in the hair.
arimachikanoko - red cloth woven through the bun in wareshinobu.
biradome - worn by maiko under 17 (or under 3 years of training) above the ougi bira kanzashi.
nezashi - kanzashi on right side of bun in wareshinobu consisting of silver leafs and jade and coral balls.
akadama/tama - the red ball kanzashi on the left side of bun for maiko; geiko wear the tama kanzashi on the right. This is exchanged for a green jade one in summer.
kushi - a comb. It can be wooden or lacquered for geiko, or covered in tsumami silk petals or thread for maiko. Geiko and maiko alike wear a tortoiseshell kushi with formal wear.
geta - two-pronged sole wooden sandals, casual, worn with yukata
zori - wedge soled sandals worn with tabi socks. Worn by geiko (geisha) and some maiko.
okobo - tall wooden clogs worn only by maiko, also called pokkuri or koppori. Red hanao (straps) are worn by young maiko, then pink, green and gray by older maiko.
　

Some Kyoto Dialect

The Kyoto dialect has many repetitions with a quiet tempo. And it has expressions of consideration without roughness. It sounds soft and pleasant. The Kyoto dialect likes a roundabout way of speaking. It is one of typical features of the Kyoto dialect.

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