Japan Geisha

Geisha are professional hostesses who entertain customers through various performing arts as gei means arts or performances, and sha means people in Japanese. Geisha are not either ordinary hostesses or prostitutes. They patiently went through extensive training to become geisha and keep improving their skills by taking many lessons. Nowadays, there are geisha who learn computer skills or English conversation to serve English-speaking customers. Also, the work of geisha is expanding, including modeling or international tours, for example.

It's believed that the women who danced foe warriers in the 11th century are the predecessors of geisha. Geisha are trained in a number of skills: traditional Japanese dance, singing, playing instruments, flower arrangement, wearing kimono, Japanese tea ceremony, calligraphy, alcohol serving manners, and more.

There are two basic types of geisha. One is called tachikata who mainly do traditional Japanese dance(mai). The other is called jikata who mainly sing or play instruments. Tachikata are usually maiko(young gersha) and jikata are older geisha women.