Geisha, (芸者 "person of the arts") are traditional Japanese artist- entertainers. The word Geiko is also used to describe such persons. Geisha were very common in the 18th and 19th centuries, and are still in existence today, although their numbers are dwindling. "Geisha," pronounced as "gay-sha" is the most familiar term to English speakers, and the most commonly used within Japan as well, but in the Kansai region the terms geigi and, for apprentice geisha, "Maiko" have also been used since the Meiji Restoration. The term maiko is only used in Kyoto districts.
The English pronunciation "gee-sha" or the phrase "geisha girl," common during the American occupation of Japan, carry connotations of prostitution, as some young women, desperate for money and calling themselves "geisha," sold themselves to American troops.
The geisha tradition evolved from the taikomochi or hōkan, similar to court jesters. The first geisha were all male; as women began to take the role they were known as onna geisha (女芸者), or "woman artist (female form)."
Geisha were traditionally trained from young childhood. Geisha houses often bought young girls from poor families, and took responsibility for raising and training them. During their childhood, apprentice geisha worked first as maids, then as assistants to the house's senior geisha as part of their training and to contribute to the costs of their upkeep and education.
This long-held tradition of training still exists in Japan, where a student lives at the home of a master of some art, starting out doing general housework and observing and assisting the master, and eventually moving up to become a master in her own right. This training often lasts for many years. Becoming a geisha is now entirely voluntary. Most geisha now begin their training in their late teens.
Are Geisha Prostitutes?
Strictly speaking, geisha are not prostitutes. Because they entertain men behind closed doors in an exclusive manner, there has been much speculation about the underpinnings of their profession. The confusion that surrounds this issue has been complicated by Japanese prostitutes who wish to co-opt the prestige of the geisha image, and by inaccurate depictions of geisha in Western popular culture.
Although a geisha may choose to engage in sexual relations with one of her patrons.The first geisha was indeed a courtesan named Kako. Over time, she discovered that she had no need to engage in the red-light district. Kako was directly or indirectly to heir to many schools of Japanese art. She called herself a geisha ("arts-person") and confined herself to giving artistic performances.
~Kimono~
Male Kimono
Female Kimono
The name “kimono” (着物) means simply “wearing thing”
The widths of the material usedis 38 centimeters (15 inches) for women’s kimonos and 40 centimeters (15 3/4 inches) for men’s- are invariable. They are determined by the weaving frame used to make the fabric. The furisode, an extremely long-sleeved version of the kimono, is worn only by young unmarried women on formal occasions. Only Enka singers have the privilege of wearing furisode regardless of their age and status.
In the Heian period (794- 1185) women of the Japanese wore up to 25 layers of kimonos, making movement virtually impossible. The kosode, the short sleeved kimono that is standard nowadays, started off as the bottom layer, that is, the underwear, of Heian court kimono.
~OFURO - Japanese Bath~
Ofuro are a traditional Japanese hot bath. Ofuro include private baths, and public baths like those Ofuro found at Onsen. Taking a bath has always been an integral part of Japanese life. In the past, Japanese people enjoyed the daily ritual with their friends and neighbours in a public bath (the sento) or in a hot spring bath (the onsen). It was not until the middle of this century that the provision of a water supply made it possible for most people to have a private Ofuro, although the onsen and the sento remain popular for many Japanese people.
Above you can see an Ofuro at the Japanese Mountain Retreat where you can enjoy a weekend away in this traditional Japanese style accommodation. The Japanese bath means much more that just getting oneself clean. Having shed one’s clothes and daily concerns, then lathered, scrubbed and rinsed oneself thoroughly, one steps into the ofuro and sinks slowly into the deep, pure and clean hot water.
Soaking, submerged to the chin, it is a time for relaxation and contemplation, a sensual pleasure and a feeling of well-being and harmony with the natural surroundings, perhaps the garden or landscape beyond.
Sumo
Sumo or Sumo wrestling is a traditional Japanese contact sport. Sumo still remains popular in Japan today where the top sumo wrestlers are well paid.
Sumo (相撲Sumō, alternatively 大相撲Ōzumō), or Sumo wrestling, is a competition contact sport wherein two wrestlers or rikishi face off in a circular area. The sport is of Japanese origin and is surrounded by ceremony and ritual. The Japanese consider Sumo a gendai budō: a modern Japanese martial art, even though the sport has a history spanning many centuries.
The Sumo tradition is very ancient, and even today the sport includes many ritual elements from when Sumo was used in the Shinto religion.
Professional Sumo
Professional sumo is organized by the Japan Sumo Association. The original wrestlers were probably samurai, often ronin, who needed to find an alternative form of income.
Sumo wrestling is a strict hierarchy based on sporting merit. The wrestlers are ranked according to a system that dates back hundreds of years, to the Edo period. Wrestlers are promoted or demoted according to their previous performance and aBanzukelisting the full hierarchy is published two weeks prior to each sumo tournament.
Wrestlers enter Sumo in the lowest Jonokuchi division and, ability permitting, work their way up to the top Makuuchi division. Only wrestlers in the top two divisions are salaried, and they are called sekitori (to have taken the barrier). Wrestlers in the lower divisions are regarded as being in training and receive a subsistence allowance, in return for which they must perform various chores in their training stable.
All sumo wrestlers take wrestling names called shikona (しこ名), which may or may not be related to their real names.Often wrestlers have little choice in their name, which is given to them by their trainer (or stablemaster), or by a supporter or family member who encouraged them into the sport.
Professional Sumo is practiced exclusively in Japan, where it originated, but wrestlers of other nationalities participate. The first foreigner to win the top division championship was Takamiyama in the 1970s. He was followed by Konishiki who won the top division title on three occasions, and reached the rank of Ozeki. In 1993 Akebono became the first foreign born Yokozuna. These three former wrestlers were all born in Hawaii. Furthermore, recently wrestlers from Korea and several former Soviet and Soviet bloc countries have also found success in the upper levels of Sumo. There are currently 59 wrestlers officially listed as foreigners.
Samurai
The word samurai has its origins in the pre-Heian period Japan, meaning servant or attendant. It was not until the early modern period, namely the Azuchi-Momoyama period and early Edo period of the late 16th and early 17th centuries that the word saburai became substituted with samurai. However, by then, the meaning had already long before changed.
Samurai employed a range of weapons such as bows and arrows, spears and guns; but their most famous weapon and their symbol was the sword.Samurai were supposed to lead their lives according to the ethic code of bushido ("the way of the warrior"). Strongly Confucian in nature, Bushido stressed concepts such as loyalty to one's master, self discipline and respectful, ethical behavior.
Samurai were expected to be cultured and literate, and over time, samurai during the Tokugawa era gradually lost their military function. By the end of the Tokugawa, samurai were essentially civilian bureaucrats for the daimyo with their swords serving only ceremonial purposes. With the Meiji reforms in the late 19th century, thesamurai were abolished as a distinct class in favour of a western-style national army. The strict code that they followed, calledbushido, still survives in present-day Japanese society, as do many other aspects of their way of life.
Japanese Calligraphy Art
Today calligraphy is one of the elementary subjects taught in schools in Japan. It is one of the compulsory subjects during primary education and at the higher levels one has the option to choose between calligraphy, painting and music. Some universities have even developed specialization and teacher training courses in the field of calligraphy.
With the improvements in means of mass communication Japanese calligraphy was exported to the west. The western artists at once fell in love with this poetic form of writing. The calligraphers were especially awe struck by the beauty of Japanese writing. Even artists with a specialization other than calligraphy were known to have learnt the art parallel to their own specialty. Japanese calligraphy is also considered to be highly fashionable in today’s times. You will be able to find all sorts of fashion accessories and interior decoration items with Japanese calligraphy on them.
The most important and most celebrated part of the holiday season in Japan is New Year's day, known as O-Shogatsu. It's a very busy time between the 24th of December. O-Shogatsu is the celebration of the New Year and is the most important holiday in Japan. In Japan people give some gift in a lot of occasion. Oseibo is the most common issue as a year-end gift. They give it to their superiors, customers and teachers to express appreciation for the special services they have extended to them.
Bonenkai is a party usually held among office colleagues and bosses. Bonenkai litarelly means a "Forget-the-year party" to forget the unpleasant memories of the passing year and to welcome the New Year with a fresh and serene mind. At the party, bosses usually tell their stuff to be Breiko(to forget their position and be impolite!), because the relationship in the workplace in Japan is a bit strict. For example, Japanese language has various expression for each word. One is called a polite word and another is called a modest word. People use these words in formal situation such as in a workplace.
Before the New Year, Japanese people clean their houses from top to bottom. Then they put up New Year's decorations, especially Kadomatsu which are made from bamboo, pine branches and strips of white folded paper. When the house is clean and decorated, then everybody gets busy preparing New Year's food.
One of the most important New Year's foods is Mochi. In their neighborhood, they have a mochi-tsuki party every year and make their own mochi. They gather on a Sunday morning in an empty lot. In one corner of the lot, someone starts to cook rice on an open fire. When the rice is cooked, it is placed in a special wooden dish and is pounded with a big wooden hammer. All of the neighbors take turns pounding until the rice mixture becomes a big ball of dough. Then everyone gets involved rolling small mochi balls which are eaten with different kinds of sweet or salty sauces and toppings.
This picture as seen above, shows all of the neighbors taking turns to pound the rice mixture until it becomes a big ball of dough, then everyone gets involved in rolling small mochi balls which are eaten with different kinds of sweet or salty sauces and toppings.
This picture as shown above is called the ozoni, a miso soup which are usually served with mochi. There are a few different versions of ozoni, but it’s the traditional first food people eat on New Years, after toasting sake in the morning.
This picture shows a dish that contains about 20-30 different items of food in a 3-tier set of boxes which are eaten during New Year, called osechi-ryori.
Omisoka is the day of New Year’s Eve. Since the New Year is the biggest event in Japan, people celebrate the Eve as well. People work so hard to prepare the New Year around one or two weeks such as cleaning (like spring cleaning in here) and shopping. The reason people do the cleaning in the middle of winter is to get rid of the dirty of the passing year and to welcome the New Year with a fresh and serene mind.
And on Omisoka, with preparing the New Year’s special dishes called Osechi-ryori. Japanese people spend time at home with their family. They eat, play games, and watch special New Year's shows on television.
People eat Toshikoshi-soba at night and stay up till midnight to listen to the 108 chimes of a nearby temple bell. Toshikoshi-soba is a bowl of hot brown noodles in broth. The noodle is a homophone for a word that means “being close” and therefore signifies the approach of the New Year. The 108 chimes called Joya-no-kane, rings out the old year and rings in the New Year. It is supposed to release people from the 108 worldly sins.
Although Christmas cards exist in Japan, most people send traditional New Year's postcards called Nengajyo. People send a lot of greeting cards to their relatives, friends, business acquaintances and customers to wish them a happy New Year. This custom is very nice because if you post your cards by a special date in December, the post office will deliver them all bright and early on the 1st of January. When you wake up on that day, your mailbox is full of happy wishes for you. This is a good opportunity to keep in touch with old friends and acquaintances.
The shrines all over Japan are packed with people from the New Year’s Day to January 3rd. This day is called the Hatsumoude, after New Year's breakfast, people get dressed up in their Kimonos to go to the shrine or to the temple to pray for safety, happiness and long lives of the family. The Japanese would also buy a good luck talisman called Omamorito be kept as a protection from illness, accidents and disasters. This is the first temple visit of the year and is very important. After praying, people visit the temple market. All around the temple grounds, there are booths and little shops set up where you can buy traditional foods, cotton candy, balloons, toys and temple souvenirs.
This picture shows the temple market that the Japanese would visit after praying, where you can buy traditional foods, cotton candy, balloons, toys and temple souvenirs.
Daruma can also be purchased at the temple market. These are papier-mache figures that come in many sizes and that have two big white eye spots. Daruma are used for making New Year's resolutions. With a magic marker, the buyer blackens in one of the eyes while making a resolution. If, during the year, they accomplish their wish, they can blacken the other eye to show they succeeded. At the end of the year, people return used darumas to the temple for a special burning and buy new ones.
This is a drawing of a daruma purchased at the temple market.
After visiting the temple, Japanese people return to their homes to eat, play traditional games and just relax. Children fly kites and play with wooden tops. Adults play poetry games and pratice calligraphy.
The picture above shows a drawing of a traditional game played during the Japanese’s New Year called the Karuta Game.
This picture above shows a drawing of the Japanese traditional Shodo Calligraphy which the adults would normally do during the New Year.
Probably the most important holiday tradition for Japanese children is O-toshidama. These are little envelopes containing money that children get from their parents and other relatives. Even though the Japanese holidays are very different from holidays in America and Europe, since children are expected to be good all year in order to get O-toshidama, in a way, it is just like Christmas. It is the busiest season for toy shops to attract children to spend their Otoshidama.
Communication can be categories into two parts, verbal and non-verbal communications. Verbal communication is an interaction between two person face to face whereas non-verbal communications is simply focus on the use of hands, face, body postures and body language.
The Japanese Language (verbal)
Japanese is thesixth most spoken language in the world, with over 99% percent of the country's population using it.
The origin of the Japanese language has many theories in reference to it, some believe it is similar to the Altaic languages, namely Turkish or Mongolian. It is recognized and acknowledged to be close to the Korean language.
Dialects are used in areas, particularly in Kyoto and Osaka, but standard Japanese, based on the speech of Tokyo, has become more popular through the use of television, radio and movies.
Japanese Language: Japanese (日本語nihongo) is spoken in Japan, and essentially nowhere else. The Japanese language is distinct from Chinese and Korean, although the written form uses Chinese (kanji) characters.
Japanese Non-Verbal Communication
Believe it or not, Japanese rely on
facial expression
tone of voice
posture to tell them what someone feels.
They often trust non-verbal messages more than the spoken word as words can have several meanings. They believe that context in which something is said affects the meaning of the words. Therefore, it is imperative to understand the situation to fully appreciate the response.
Simple expression such as :
Frowning.
Tilting the head
Scratchingthe back of the head
Scratching the eyebrow interpreted that it is a sign of disagreement
Most Japanese maintain an impassive (giving no sign of feeling or emotion : expressionless) when speaking.
It is also considered disrespectful to stare into another person's eyes, particularly those of a person who is senior to you because of age or status.
Japanese tend to use words as only part of the message. Other factors, such as silence, subtle body language, mood, tone, and intuition
Indicating agreement
The Japanese do not judge information given to them so they do not indicate agreement or disagreement. They only nod to indicate they are listening. To the Japanese nodding or saying “yes” only means they are listening to what you are saying. It does not indicate agreement.
The geisha tradition evolved from the taikomochi or hōkan, 
