A glimpse into the misunderstood history of geisha

For many, the term “geisha” conjures a striking image: a face painted bright white, a head of glossy sculpted black hair, and traditional kimono in an array of vibrant colors.

Since 2021, Japan has been grappling with how to handle skyrocketing numbers of overseas tourists—some 25 million in 2023 and 11.6 million in the first four months of 2024 alone. Many of them travel to the country’s second most popular destination (behind Tokyo), Kyoto, hoping to catch a glimpse of the iconic entertainers.

Geisha dance at Gion Kobu Kaburenjo theater in Kyoto. Dances practiced by geisha evolved from Noh and kabuki theatre.

Photograph by Michael S. Yamashita, Nat Geo Image Collection

Geisha wear wigs called katsura, made of sculpted human hair.

Photograph by Jodi Cobb, Nat Geo Image Collection

The city, considered the country’s cultural capital and a bastion of geisha business, was flooded with travelers unaware of (or purposefully turning a blind eye to) etiquette and rules of the geisha district Gion.

After Gion residents filed complaints against what they termed “unruly tourists,” the local government was forced to act, instituting a tourist ban that went into effect in earlier this year. “Kyoto is not a theme park,” the local council said. The fines for trespassing are listed as up to ¥10,000, or about US $64.

Repeated complaints against tourists have been made by geisha (regionally known as geiko) and maiko (geiko in training, often only teens), who are often subjected to photos against their consent—even with numerous signs posted around Kyoto that clearly state the rules and the fines for infractions.

A young geisha adjusts her wig in a mirror in the Miyagawacho Geisha District in Kyoto.

Photograph by Jodi Cobb, Nat Geo Image Collection

The new policy is the latest in Japan’s ongoing battle with overtourism, which has led to stressed infrastructure and marginalization of local communities. But understanding the new ban goes beyond the sheer numbers of visitors—it also requires recognition of centuries of Western sexualization and erasure of geisha’s historic and cultural context.

Understanding geisha in modern Japan

Thanks to centuries of sexualization in Western media, the image of the geisha is often closely linked with sex work. There is some historical truth here—geisha had been connected to the pleasure quarters and, back in the Tokugawa period, did engage in sex work during a time when it was more widely practiced.

However, much of the contemporary, erotically charged conceptions stem from highly sensationalized tales told by writers like Arthur Golding, whose novel Memoirs of a Geisha set the tone for how these women have been understood in the West for decades.

But this misunderstanding of the geisha strips them of a centuries-long history rooted in culture and art.

A geisha poses with her shamisen, a three-stringed instrument, in the 1880s. Geisha and maiko traditionally play kouta style music on the shamisen.

Photograph by Charles Harris Phelps, Nat Geo Image Collection

Geisha entertain guests by playing the koto and singing in the 1880s.

Photograph by Charles Harris Phelps, Nat Geo Image Collection

Geishas prepare for a tea ceremony in Kyoto. The ceremonial preparation and presentation of tea is one of the many performance arts geisha train in.

Photograph by Eliza R. Scidmore, Nat Geo Image Collection

The term geisha (芸者) emphasizes entertainment, artistry, and performance. The first character, gei, is the same found in words for the arts (芸術), artist (芸術家), performing arts (芸能), and so on.

“It can’t be overemphasized that the image that geisha would almost automatically conjure up today—especially abroad but not exclusively so—is rather irregular when we try historicizing the term,” Maki Isaka, a professor at the University of Minnesota who specializes in Japanese performance and gender studies. “Geisha means ‘that which (sha)’ do ‘gei (acquired artistic technique),’ a term that was used in that exact manner in the past, but was even broader to include even martial arts practitioners.”

The term itself is not necessarily even gendered. Historians note that the first geisha were actually men who worked in what was then called Edo, now modern-day Tokyo. “Depending on regions, geisha as a ‘gender-neutral’ term indicates male geisha, and a gender signifier would be necessary to signify female counterparts,” Isaka says.

Geisha is also not a monolithic word, it is simply the word that was carried over into English; in other cities, like Kyoto, the term geiko is used instead.

A geisha serves drinks at a Kyoto teahouse in 1970.

Photograph by Thomas J. Abercrombie, Nat Geo Image Collection

The connection to entertainment and performance is clear even in the aesthetics of geisha—the striking painted-on white makeup that is so striking is also found in kabuki theater and in the pale white masks used in Noh theater.

“In Edo-era theatre-related publications from the late 17th through early 18th centuries, geisha usually means kabuki actor, when kabuki actors were default male at that time,” Isaka says.

And, like the traditional performance houses of kabuki and Noh, geisha houses follow a system of passing down knowledge and skills through hierarchical systems to guide maiko, geisha-in-training, along their journey.

These maiko, generally between fifteen to twenty years old, learn tea ceremony, dance, and even music as part of their training. Becoming a geisha is a rigorous process that takes nearly a decade and includes a probationary period, apprenticeship, and training before a young woman even debuts as a maiko. Once a maiko, there is further training to become a geisha.

A geisha dances with a fan, a tradition that also traces back to Noh theatre.

Photograph by Paul Chesley, Nat Geo Image Collection

View of the nape of a maiko’s neck showing traditional make-up in Kyoto in 2007. Geisha and maiko can be differentiated by their makeup, hair adornments, and details on their kimono.

Photograph by Jodi Cobb, Nat Geo Image Collection

A geisha walks through Buddhist shrine complex gardens in Kyoto. Her traditional platform sandals are called okobo, which are also worn by girls and young women across the country on certain holidays.

Photograph by Paul Chesey, Nat Geo Image Collection

Kyoto’s Gion district ban

Although other cities in Japan have a history of geisha districts, Kyoto remains the main node of modern geisha culture.

There are five geisha districts in Kyoto where geisha work, creating an ecosystem based in traditional culture that include other businesses that provide necessities for customers, including tea houses or banquet halls.

Not only do these establishments need ingredients to create full menus to service regulars and tourists, they also require artisans who can assist in the upkeep of buildings done in a traditional style, like tatami mat makers and skilled carpenters. Similarly, geisha need access to craftspeople to provide them with the necessities of their trade like elaborate kimono and their various accessories.

But these districts also include run-of-the-mill residents who often find their lives disrupted by a flood of tourists on foot and on buses, particularly in the last several years.

One of the oldest geishas still working in Japan, 82-year-old Ikuko Akasaka, has been performing the demanding traditional art—dancing and conversing with clients—for 64 years. Here she exercises with her trainer.

Photograph by Noriko Hayashi, Nat Geo Image Collection

Unfortunately, most tourists who visit Kyoto aren’t aware of the history of geisha nor are they aware of the etiquette and rules of the district. Florentyna Leow, writer, editor, and long-time travel consultant based in Kyoto noticed an uptick in tourism across Japan in the last few years, particularly in Kyoto.

“There are far more selfie-sticks, more video-filming in all sorts of places from temples to tiny restaurants, along with more wandering around and talking into a phone,” compared to before the pandemic, she says. “This all means that total strangers are unwittingly pulled into photos or video they did not consent to.”

The tourist ban in Kyoto might seem extreme, but the idea of limiting who has access to geisha and their spaces isn’t new. Tea houses may limit customers and can even institute a referral system—first-time customers may not be allowed in unless they can be vetted by a regular, repeat customer or through a trusted third-party.

It’s also well known that geisha and maiko hold their professional secrets close, making it difficult even for well-meaning academics to gather information from their informants until they can prove their good intentions.

But the ban raises another crucial problem—determining who is a resident or a domestic tourist and who is a foreign, non-Japanese tourist. There are many non-Japanese residents who may be barred from going about their legitimate business simply based on appearance. Such a ban won’t be easy to uphold and instead presents a short-sighted approach to a very real problem that is unlikely to disappear.