The Real Geisha Girl of Japan.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 791, 6 April 1905, Page 3

The Real Geisha Girl of Japan.

: A splendid butterflj', whose profession it is to charm the eye with gorgeous attire, to please tho aesthetic jtaste with those dances which might |bp called poems made visible, to en- j pertain guests wilh practised, wit and ( grace, and even to turn the scale of j large business transactions by tho keenness of her tongue and the seductiveness of her manner—this is the geisha at her best. Strictly speaE- . ing, tho dancers' are called maiko and those who "pipe to fchem" are geishas, yet both arc often included under the name of goisha. t It is quite a mistake to suppose that the geisha corresponds to t'he demi-mondaine of America or the ■ grisette of France. She is purely a Japanese production, and her like is not found elsewhere.. She is unique. In the first place, she is carefully taught her profession in a regular geisha training school. In Kyoto,the home of The cherry dance, there is an academy for the instruction of mai-. Jko and geisha, and any traveller may visit the school after obtaining a 10-t----«r of introduction from some wellKnown person.- 1 Here tho girls from the age of six J or seven are taught tho arts of dancing and of inventing dances, of playing all the musical instruments used _ in the dance, of making "honourable tea"- in the strictest ceremonial fashion, of dressing, of tying the obi, of arranging the hair and in addition are instructed in all those branches which have made them, up until almost the present day, the most high-

ly educated and wittiest class of women in Japan. In Osaka, which by the way is not-

Ed for its beautiful geishas, a merchant who is a largo exporter to the United States told me that nearly all the important business transactions in the place were carried to a conclusion by the geisha girls; and .lie stated positively that no one could prosper without the help of a geisha, while it was a fatal policy to antagonise one of them. lie said that most of the large trades and deals were put through after lon at For instance, .wli'cn be wished to buy a large consignment- of goods for exportation he would invite his man >to a tea house and engage the , prettiest and wittiest geisha he could afford to do the honours. After exchanges of sociability, and when all were in good humour, tho j subject in hand would be introduced !the geisha, who must be posted and 'up-to-date, putting in a telling word for him here and there. Her charm 'would often turn the affair to his, advantage and the lightness of her wit would make heavy his pockets. If a man thinks he can get along without those dainty manipulators of the wheel of fortune he soon finds things are going wrong with him, and | he begins to feel a respect for the Ipower of the geisha. Then, again, the Japanese has both a natural and j a cultivated love for splendid colour I schemes, rich embroideries and exquiJsito textures. But for himself or his family to display these upon their 'own persons ho would consider bad taste, at even vulgar. Splendid ap- ' | parel that attracts the public gaze is for public personages, such as royalties, the priests, and last, but most showy of all, the geisha, at whose performances the Japanese may gratify his taste for splendour and the spectacular.