Many Japanese chastise American tourists because they come to Japan thinking there are still geisha walking around the streets of Japan. To the Japanese, this indicates that we are not only naïve, but that we have still to recognize Japan as a new modern nation. But American tourists could be forgiven for their blunder as the American media continues to push the geisha image on us, making it the most popular icon of traditional Japan. Movies like “The Last Samurai” and books like “Memoirs of a Geisha” promote images of Japan that, although romantic, are contrary to what modern Japanese culture is like. Even the Lonely Planet guidebooks insist on putting a geisha on the cover of their Japan edition even though 99.99 percent of their readers will never see one.

Ah, but what about that .01 percent? The good news is that you can be that .01 percent if you are willing to pay for it. Some enterprising foreigners have paved the way for you and now offer “assisted tours” to geisha houses. The most reputable is Chris Rowthorn (www.chrisrowthorn.com) an expert on Kyoto and Japanese culture. Having an introduction is necessary, and Chris offers this as well as an interpreter to facilitate communications. He also does non-geisha oriented walking tours of Kyoto.

Links

For a good description of geisha, their history and a clarification of the difference between geisha and prostitutes (geisha are not prostitutes!), see the Wikipedia entry at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geisha

Read about an Australian woman who claims to be the first foreign geisha in Japan at http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fl20080629x3.html

Amy Chavez is a columnist for The Japan Times. Visit her website at http://www.moooobar.com