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Tifa83 — Geisha
Published: 2005-04-23 15:00:29 +0000 UTC; Views: 33597; Favourites: 742; Downloads: 499
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Kyoto - GeishaRelated content
Comments: 151
That's lovely; i'd like to use this pic as reference for an illustration if you don't mind. Let me know.
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This is a very good picture, but sadly, this girl is a Henshin, or a tourist dressed as a geisha, btw, the geisha in kyoto are called geiko ^^ If you want the details on how I can tell she is a fake, I would be happy to tell you, I just don't want to upset you ^^
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I'm actually very curious as to how you can tell.
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Oh, that's very easy in fact, I can list them off. Though I just realized I shouldn't have said she's dressed as a Geisha, when she's actually dressed as a maiko (A girl training to become a geisha)
1, She's wearing a wig. Maiko never wear wigs. You can see it coming slightly away from her head by her temple. There's actually a stage, I think it's called shikomi, before they become Maiko when they grow their hair out quite a bit. Geisha are allowed to wear wigs because back in the old days geisha would have a problem with losing their hair since the hair styles are so strenuous on their scalps. But even then, the wigs don't look like this.
2, The collar under her kimono has colors on it that a Maiko wouldn't be wearing. That collar should only be red, white, and gold. And a Maiko that would be at this stage should only have a collar that is mostly red. I'll explain the stages in the next one.
3, She is wearing a hair ornament (Called kanzashi) that has pieces of folded silk dangling by the left side of her face. That's all well and good, it's a sign of a maiko in her first year of training. Yet, she has both her upper and lower lips painted, which is a sign of a maiko who is further along into her second year, much further along, in fact, because that upper lip is fully painted. Maiko in their first year only have their bottom lip painted to give a sort of "pouty" innocent look to them. And as I said before, maiko that are in this stage should have an under collar that has much more red in it. As a maiko comes closer and closer to becoming a geisha, that collar will slowly transition to white, because Geisha wear only white collars.
4, finally, maiko have the sleeves tucked, you can see it a bit here, though it is difficult. That tuck should be higher up on her shoulder, other wise it just looks sloppy. The front of her obi should also be higher up, covering her breasts, almost to where the kimono crosses. When a maiko becomes a geisha, she will wear a smaller obi to give a more mature appearance. Back in the old days, maiko were children for the most part, so that obi is meant to reflect that, also the tucks in the shoulders and sleeves are meant to reflect how children have their shoulders and sleeves tucked until they get older.
Anywho, I hope this helps ^^ If you have any questions feel free to ask ^^
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She is Amazing! Lovely picture and a great locking Geisha.
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She is so lovely. A vision of a world of pleasure and of grace, of art. thank you for posting.
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i wanna be a maiko or geisha but im Canadian and im not studenting in Japan for 2 more years, besides my hair is red and im not near as pretty XD
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Acually I think the maiko outfit is much more beautiful than a geishas.
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Looks more like a maiko than a geisha, but it's still a lovely picture.
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My mom has two those umberellas.. I don't know are they fake, but those are beautyful..
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she's looks so delicate and beautiful like a
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She isn't actually a Kyoto geisha. First of all, she's an apprentice geisha, or maiko. This girl is wearing a katsura, or wig, but Kyoto maiko fashion their own hair. So she's either a tourist dressed up as a maiko (quite likely, as maiko do not go for hot pink kimonos, or so I've seen), or an apprentice geisha from another part of Japan. Tokyo apprentice geisha are called hangyoku, perhaps she's one of them. I've seen hangyoku in bright pink kimonos, also.
Read "Geisha of Gion" by Mineko Iwasaki. She is the geiko that "Memoirs of a Geisha" was based on.
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Wow- I saw this piece and then proceeded to type out almost exactly what you said. It is good to know that people are educated about Japanese Cultural History. Well done!!! Mineko Iwasaki is a fascinating person to study. Her books are a great inspiration!
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I thought Arthur Golden made up(to an extent, he still went to Japan and studied the Geisha, and read the book by Liza Dalby) the story?
I did not know he based it off of ONE woman.
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Maiko do not become geisha solely after they lose their virginity. It may happen around the same time, but its not just because of mizu-age.
Maiko beomce geisha when they are able to hold their own without their onesan, although they may still look to them for help. Simply put, a maiko becomes a geisha after her period of minerai, which is about 5 years, is over.
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This is suppose to be a maiko but she has a wig on so she's just a fake on for the tourists
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No trainee's are called Maiko. They are not called Geisha until they lose their virginity.
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i love this picture.
add my fav.
i like colors and the light, is clean and natural.
sorry my english..is suck now XD!
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She has a wig on. Look closely and you can tell. She's not a tourist either; she's just a fake maiko for people to "Ooh" and "Aah" about.
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yeah, she definitely is wearing a wig. but also, some of the time, real maiko wear wigs too, during informal events.
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Wow, an amazing photo! The colours are beautiful.
I've featured it here: [link]
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so beautiful! this is exactly why i've been wanting to visit kyoto, for the traditional geishas that are often seen roaming the streets there...and i absolutely LOVE the colors of her kimono...absolutely stunning.
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Her kimono is incredibly beautiful. I love the atmosphere in the picture.
:3
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Yay, a real Geisha, not a stupid, mis-labeled prostitute. Honestly, how can you mistake such elegant women?
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If people want to know what a Geisha really is, they can look it up on Wiki. They did a good job keeping that article properly balanced. People always diss Wikipedia but they have experts double check it 
I just love Geisha. They represent how women can be mysterious, elegant, and flirt without looking bad. Though the Japanese have such a unique idea of "wanting what you can't have" and keeping it all in good fun.
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Shes a maiko, not a geisha. She has blossoms in her hair and has a bright kimono.
Still beautiful though :]
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How fortunate to run into a geisha like that.
She looks so splendid with all her ornaments and colorful garments
The setting is also very beautiful.
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