Dinner with a Geisha

Activity > Kyoto > Culture > Kyoto East

I arrived in the bustling Gion district in Kyoto at a quarter to five. Gion, I have heard, is the center of the geisha culture in Japan and although my knowledge of geisha is limited to movies and books — which I heard were a bit inaccurate — I was quite looking forward to an evening immersed in the Japanese culture of entertainment.
According to the tour guide, a geisha was literally a walking art performance. Young girls train for several years as maiko, or apprentices to a geisha, before they become geisha themselves. These girls are rigorously trained in the areas of dancing, singing, playing musical instruments, as well as tea ceremonies and drinking games.
We took a leisurely stroll along the streets of Gion and I took in the many teahouses where the geisha plied their trade for centuries, every movement controlled and precise. In my brief stay in Japan, I have always been amazed at the way the people worked towards perfection. It would seem that this very culture extended even into the art of entertainment. After all, a geisha was not merely expected to sit prettily and pour wine for her guests.
No, a geisha was expected to dance and play instruments, which would take years in training, I would surmise. She was also expected to engage in conversations with the guests, as well as prepare the tea and sake, whichever the occasion called for.
In the ancient times, geisha were also trained to detect poisons in food and were equipped for it, too. People who sought out the services of geisha are usually powerful and influential and these ladies were not only expected to keep their prestigious clientele entertained but also safe from possible assassinations.
We arrived at one of the teahouses and we were ushered into a room where a maiko sat with her instruments. The geisha greeted us at the door, bedecked in all her traditional finery. The tour guide once mentioned that the clothes and accessories a geisha wore could weigh more than half the woman itself. And to think these ladies were expected to dance and sing under all that load! No wonder they had to train for years!
"It's pretty amazing how she's still standing under all that," one of my friends, Andrew, commented as we were ushered graciously to our seats by our geisha, Reiko.
Her movements were fluid, graceful and precise. She spoke to us through an interpreter and despite the language barrier, Reiko revealed herself to be the epitome of politeness, although she was also possessed of a deceptively sharp wit and we found ourselves laughing several times throughout dinner.
The maiko played several songs throughout the traditional kaiseki fare the teahouse prepared for us. She sat beside Reiko during the drinking games and learned from the example portrayed excellently by her mentor. Towards the end of the night, she even performed a short dance as Reiko displayed her excellent skill at a traditional stringed instrument.
The maiko, Megumi, she explained, was one of the best dancers among the maiko and the dance was but a sample of her talents. In fact, she had a major part in an upcoming festival in Gion, which we sadly would not be able to witness as we were leaving back for California tomorrow in the afternoon.
We departed from Gion with full tummies and more than a taste of the exquisite Japanese culture. Although it was quite pricey, it was an evening I enjoyed rather well.