Brief introduction of Japanese geisha culture
Japanese geisha were born in Tokyo and Osaka in the17th century. The original geisha were all men. They make a living by playing traditional drum music and rap in brothels and entertainment places. 1750 or so, the first female geisha appeared. /kloc-In the middle of the 0/8th century, the geisha profession was gradually replaced by women, and this tradition has been passed down to this day.
Around 794, geisha culture began to sprout. What is the predecessor of geisha? Foundation? , that is, top prostitutes, both busking and selling themselves. /kloc-in the 0/8th century, geisha really appeared. During World War II, the number of geisha decreased greatly. After the war, the geisha industry declined for a time, and it did not prosper again until the 1960s.
In fact, I personally think that ancient Japanese geisha are similar to today's geisha, and they are all dedicated to art, but geisha only developed into later geisha. And it's not so easy to become a geisha in Japan. In Japan, the conditions for being a geisha are very harsh, and the cost of studying art is also very high, which is beyond the average family's affordability. Moreover, the process of learning art is very hard, and not all geisha can persist. In ancient times, geisha generally began to learn from the age of 10. In modern times, due to the restrictions of the Child Welfare Law and the Labor Standards Law, they have to graduate from middle school (that is, 14 years old and 15 years old) before they can start studying. Learning * *, a lot of content, the process is also very difficult. Including culture, etiquette, language, decoration, poetry, harp, bowing, pouring wine and so on. And every move, word and deed has strict requirements, which embodies nobility and stability everywhere. For example, one of the contents of the training is that eating hot tofu can't make a sound, let alone touch lip gloss, which shows that the requirements are strict. At the age of 16, you can officially serve as a geisha, and the whole performance course lasts for 5 years. What was the name of the first geisha? Maiko (or a dancer)? And then you can officially convert it into? Geisha? . Geisha's career usually ends at the age of 30. If you continue to be a geisha after the age of 30, you will be demoted and become a foil for young and beautiful famous geisha. In geisha, older geisha are called? Sister (ぉさん)? . No wonder men often say that the happiest life is to marry a Japanese wife, hire a China cook and find a French housekeeper. Japanese wife comes first. Marrying a Japanese wife is a blessing.
Strictly speaking, geisha are not prostitutes. They are well-trained women, specializing in performing arts. In addition to catering for guests, a large part of them are entertained by dances, music, musical instruments and other performances at banquets. Geisha was born under the background of the extreme expansion of Japanese patriarchal society. Their clients are usually rich and powerful people in the upper class. In Japan, men who talk about business like to invite a geisha to accompany them, pour wine and serve, and adjust the atmosphere of solar terms. Of course, this service is really expensive.
Many people will ask a question when they see photos of geisha. Why is the geisha's face painted so white?
In fact, the geisha's face is white because of a name painted on her face? Kabuki powder? (= There will be no grease in the ingredients) Also called? Water white powder? Some of them are coated with white powder.
This can also be bought in many places in Japan. In addition to kabuki, some traditional Japanese dancers also use practicing white powder. When using practice white powder, the powder must be dissolved in water in proportion before it can be applied.
In ancient times, the Japanese used lead carbonate to make white lead (= white lead), which was also the main source of white pigment in ancient Japan, and it was polished with glutinous rice and mercury, so the white powder extracted in ancient times was actually toxic. Now the training white powder has been replaced by lead China, which is a mixture of China zinc oxide (= zinc oxide) and starch (= starch), and some of it will be doped with titanium dioxide (= titanium dioxide). It is said that adding this titanium dioxide will make the training white powder have a little reflective effect on the stage and make the performer's face look whiter.
There have been many famous geisha in the history of geisha's development for more than 300 years, some of which have had an important impact on the historical process of Japan and enjoyed? A diligent geisha? Wei Jun, a famous Chinese and Western scholar, is one of them.
Wei Jun was born into a samurai family, but her father was killed by the enemy, so she had to enter the geisha world. She often works in a place called. Fish? Teahouse performance. At that time, the shogunate and the reformists fought fiercely in Kyoto, Japan, and the two factions often held secret meetings under the cover of Kyoto music. Who are many key figures of the reformists? Fish? Noue Kaoru was one of them. He was a frequent visitor here and later became the foreign minister, hiding in the Meiji Restoration. Noue Kaoru and Wei Jun fell in love at first sight and their feelings developed rapidly. Soon, Teru Shimada Zuojin, a senior shogunate official who was in charge of chasing reformists in Kyoto, also took a fancy to Wei Jun. In the eyes of ordinary geisha, Teru Shimada is very powerful and wants to be Teru Shimada's wife and concubine, but Wei Jun refused Teru Shimada's proposal.
When Noue Kaoru heard the news that Teru Shimada proposed to Wei Jun, he sent someone to find Wei Jun and asked Wei Jun to consider the overall situation of reform and accept Teru Shimada's proposal to spy on the secrets of the shogunate. Wei Jun tearfully agreed to her lover's request and married Teru Shimada. With Teru Shimada's love for her, she got a lot of information about the shogunate. With her help, many reformers were able to escape from the shogunate. Later, according to the information she provided, the reformist fighters successfully assassinated Teru Shimada, which dealt a heavy blow to the shogunate.
Known as? Three great reformers? One of them, Koji Muhu (Kogoro Kwai), also has a life-and-death relationship with a geisha. Woody's wife, Matsuko, is also a geisha. 1864, the shogunate forces searched for reformists, and the city resident Longji was forced to disguise himself as a beggar and hide under a bridge. Every day, pine nuts risk their lives to come under the bridge, and then pretend that the package containing rice balls is accidentally thrown under the bridge and sent to the city household Xiaoji. Later, Matsuko used the geisha hall to shield her husband many times, and finally made him escape from the shogunate, becoming one of the leaders who later overthrew the Tokugawa era. It can be said that geisha really contributed so much to the Meiji Restoration in Japan that some people later joked that without geisha, the history of Japan would be rewritten.
The most famous Japanese geisha in the 20th century was Nakamura Kiharu.
Nakamura Kiharu was born in Tokyo in 19 13. His father is a famous local doctor and his family is very rich. As a child, Nakamura Kiharu was fascinated by geisha wearing traditional kimono and heavy makeup on the opera stage. She often dreams of standing on that stage one day. /kloc-When she was 0/5 years old, she joined the geisha regardless of her parents' opposition. With his talent and hard work, a few years later, Nakamura Kiharu announced his fame. Not only is it very popular in Japan, but even the famous movie star Chaplin has come to see her performance.
When it comes to the famous geisha after World War II, we can't help but mention Toyoko Iwasaki. She is the prototype of the novel Memoirs of a Geisha, which is popular all over the world. After World War II, as a means of Japanese cultural diplomacy, geisha often received foreign dignitaries. Faced with these world political heavyweights, geisha represented by Toyoko Iwasaki tried their best to please their guests, but they also showed strong self-esteem.
A few prodigals in troubled times
In Japanese books, her name is remembered again and again; In Japanese movies, her image has been interpreted again and again. Her beauty is like a lily in the morning, her temperament is like a violet in the water, full of deep charm, her talent is like a dragonfly flying lightly, and her loyalty is more tenacious than cattail grass wrapped around the rock. She has become a history etched in the hearts of the Japanese people. She, together with one of the three outstanding figures of the Reform Movement, was widely praised by people and was named a famous geisha in Song Ji among the four senior officials.
Kobayashi Kobayashi, a geisha after the last month.
? Moon geisha? Refers to blind artists who embrace the Sanwei Line and make a living by singing along the street. what's up Snow country? It is said that winter in Japan and Vietnam is long and cold, and there is no entertainment. After Vietnam, geisha once became a very prosperous local folk art, with more than 500 people at its peak, and its reputation spread all over Japan, becoming one of the well-known forms of entertainment in Japan. Kobayashi Chun is the most famous geisha in Empress Yue.
Kobayashi 1900 was born in a poor peasant family in Nijo Castle, Niigata Prefecture. Less than 100 days after birth, he became blind due to cataract. Because of his poor family, Kobayashi was sent to learn geisha at the age of 4. She started acting at the age of 8 and persisted until 1973.
With the rise of Japan's economy after the war, geisha gradually declined after the Vietnam War, and many artists changed careers one after another. Only Kobayashi persisted and became the last geisha in Japan after the Vietnam War. At the age of 96, she also released a record called "The Last Singing of Geisha after Vietnam War", which became a household name in Japan. On April 25th, 2005, at 2 am, he passed away peacefully at the age of 105 in Heichuan Village, Niigata Prefecture. Has her death been announced? Moon geisha? The end of the era.
There are many records about geisha in history. Geisha has a typical feature of singing and dancing, and her skin is particularly good. Japan's skin care industry has been so developed since ancient times, and the most obvious performance is geisha. Several popular geisha masks in Japan are all made according to the prototype of geisha.
Brief introduction of Japanese geisha.
Japanese geisha was born in Tokyo and Osaka in the17th century. The original geisha were all men. They play traditional drum music and rap in brothels and casinos. 1750 or so, the first female geisha appeared. /kloc-In the middle of the 0/8th century, the geisha profession was gradually replaced by women, and this tradition has been passed down to this day.
Japanese women's professional class, its traditional business is to please men. In addition to rhetoric, they must also have the skills of singing, dancing and playing "three-string variety". It is said that the geisha system appeared in the17th century, with the aim of establishing another well-trained performer besides high-class prostitutes and mass prostitutes. Even so, they sometimes have sex with customers, mainly through their talents to please customers. /kloc-in the 1920s, there were as many as 80,000 geisha in Japan, but by the beginning of the 20th century, the number had decreased to one or two thousand, and almost all of them were confined to Tokyo and Kyoto, and their employers were only the richest businessmen and the most powerful politicians. Ordinary businessmen are now looking for female bar owners. Although they have no traditional singing or dancing training, they are as understanding and eloquent as geisha.
White face, red lips, bright black eyebrows, neat and bright traditional Japanese women's bun, kimono, long sleeve landing, wide back collar, belt hanging behind her back, drinking and chatting with guests at night, performing dances and playing musical instruments. This is the most intuitive understanding of Japanese geisha.
After hundreds of years of historical evolution, geisha has changed from a prostitute's performing art to an elegant and noble art, and has become a national quintessence of Japan. It is also known as Japan's three major business cards along with Mount Fuji and Kinkaku Temple.
The unique charm of geisha culture lies not only in their special makeup and dressing, but also in the services provided by their industry: using their talents and wisdom to please guests.
Such a culture, if not understood in advance, can easily be misunderstood as the expression of erotic culture and understood as prostitutes with certain talents. But in fact, geisha's social status in Japan is very high, and many families are proud that their daughters can enter the art world.
Because they think: the status of geisha is noble, and it is a proud thing for her husband to associate with geisha. People who can usually associate with geisha are also rich and powerful men in the upper class. So many times, being with a geisha is a symbol of power and status.
With the changes of society and the rise of multiculturalism, the traditional geisha culture has gradually declined under the impact of various emerging cultures. The reason for the decline of geisha is not difficult to understand: fewer and fewer young audiences know and watch singing and dancing prostitutes, which means fewer and fewer customers are served.
Traditional geisha serve single men, while modern Japanese men have more other ways to communicate with women. At the same time, the decline of geisha is inevitable.
Geisha is a traditional occupation in Japan. /kloc-Born in Tokyo and Osaka in the 7th century, the original geisha were all men, so brothels and casinos made a living by playing traditional drum music, rap and entertaining themselves.
/kloc-In the middle of the 0/8th century, the geisha profession was gradually replaced by women, and this tradition has been passed down to this day. In addition, American writer Arthur? Gao Dun, who wrote the novel Memoirs of a Geisha, was directed by Rob? Marshall filmed memoirs of a geisha on TV.
What's the name of kanto region in Tokyo? Cloud (Japanese? Art (art)? Abbreviation)? , said the trainee stage? Half jade? ; In Kansai areas such as Kyoto and Osaka, is it called prostitution or writing? Yunzi? Trainee stage is called maiko, but after Meiji period, prostitutes? This kind of reading is becoming more and more common and has become a modern standard Japanese reading.
And artistry? Prostitutes refer to art performers and do not engage in sex trade.
In expensive restaurants and teahouses, business men like to invite a geisha to accompany them, pour wine and serve, and adjust the atmosphere. It costs at least 1 10,000 dollars. Today, there are still a few women who join the geisha industry with romantic fantasies and love for traditional art, but in the past, geisha was a lifelong career and women had to take over their mother's career. Before World War II, most geisha were forced to engage in this profession for their livelihood.
Geisha industry is a performing art, not to show off pornography, not to sell yourself. According to industry regulations, geisha are not allowed to get married during their employment, otherwise they must retire before they can keep geisha? Pure? The image of.
The geisha industry was greatly depressed after the Second World War, but it was not until the economic recovery that geisha flourished for a period of time with the warming of the company's public relations industry and the prosperity of tourism. It is estimated that there are only about 200 geisha in Kyoto at present, and some art galleries have been used for other purposes, so the decline of geisha industry has become an indisputable fact.
In Japan, the conditions for being a geisha are very harsh, and the cost of studying art is also very high, which is beyond the affordability of ordinary families. Moreover, the process of learning art is very hard, and not all geisha can persist.
In ancient times, geisha generally began to learn art at the age of 10. Now, due to the restrictions of the Child Welfare Law and the Labor Standards Law, they must graduate from middle school (that is, around 65,438+04 years old and 65,438+05 years old) before they can start studying art.
There is a lot of learning content and the process is very difficult. Including culture, etiquette, language, decoration, poetry, harp, bowing, pouring wine and so on. And every move, word and deed has strict requirements, which embodies nobility and stability everywhere.
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