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JAPAN
Apr 15, 2009

Aussie geisha turns to teaching

SYDNEY (Kyodo) Japan's first Western geisha, Sayuki, has revealed she is taking up a new role: lecturing on Japanese cultural studies at Keio University.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jan 8, 2012

Sophisticated and sordid: a geisha's dance

RIVALRY, by Nagai Kafu. Translated by Stephen Snyder. Columbia University Press, 2011, 165 pp. $20.00 (paper) Nagai Kafu's "Rivalry," according to the late Edward Seidensticker, is "on the one hand nostalgic, lyrical, and reminiscent, and on the other a modern social novel, purporting to show how...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 25, 2009

Geisha 'trans'-formation more than meets the eye

LONDON (Kyodo) Every day female tourists flock to the ancient city of Kyoto to dress up as geisha and fulfill a lifelong fantasy.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WORDS TO LIVE BY
May 27, 2010

Geisha Chikako Pari

Chikako Pari, whose stage name is Ichizuru, is the last geisha, also known as geiko, of a small town in Kyoto Prefecture. Her unusual last name, Pari — written in kanji — refers to the city of Paris and her French ancestry, although the details of her French great-grandfather's life were...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Sep 3, 2016

Strolling the quiet alleyways of Nara, Japan's forgotten capital

It's hard playing second fiddle when you used to be first chair. Just ask Nara, Kyoto's underpraised southern neighbor.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Jan 28, 2017

Photographer John Paul Foster: 'Little details separate a good photograph from a great one'

American photographer on geisha cluture and the art of taking a great picture.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 3, 2011

Geisha cuts into kimono market

Wearing a kimono can be a daunting task, where one must follow numerous steps and protocols steeped in tradition to prevent making a fool of oneself.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Oct 14, 2007

Nagai Kafu's geisha: expurgated, revised, then finally fully exposed

Rivalry: A Geisha's Tale, translated by Stephen Snyder. New York: Columbia University Press, 2007, 166 pp., $24.95 (cloth) Komayo, widowed young, resumes her life as a geisha, taking up with a former patron who wants to redeem her. She, however, falls in love with a young actor specializing in female...
JAPAN
Aug 24, 2004

Ken Watanabe to star in 'Memoirs of a Geisha'

Actor Ken Watanabe, nominated for an Oscar for his performance in the 2003 film "The Last Samurai," will star in the movie adaptation of the international best-selling novel "Memoirs of a Geisha," according to the film's producers. Production will begin in Japan and Los Angeles in September.
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Apr 6, 2012

Catch a glimpse of geisha at annual spring dance event in Kyoto

The way of the geisha is slowly disappearing, but there are still small pockets where you can find them around Japan. The biggest one of these areas is the Kyoto neighborhood of Gion. All through April, Gion will host the Miyako Odori — the spring dance of the geisha.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
May 23, 2008

Shinbashi fetes its geisha culture

Indulge yourself in the art of geisha at the 84th annual Azuma Odori dance gala in Tokyo's Shinbashi district from May 29 to June 1.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Dec 7, 2012

Geisha to perform yearly dance

It may be a bit touristy to hunt for geisha in Kyoto, but head to Fukuoka and they're there for all to see.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / HOTELS & RESTAURANTS
Jun 25, 2010

A night with geisha and fine dining

The Royal Park Hotel in Nihonbashi, Tokyo, has prepared a special plan that offers guests the opportunity to experience traditional Japanese culture, combining a one-night stay at the hotel and a geisha entertainment and dinner event at a top Japanese restaurant on July 24.
Japan Times
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Jan 12, 2023

Hirokazu Kore-eda’s ‘The Makanai: Cooking for the Maiko House’ is light and dusted with sugar

The Palme d'Or-winning filmmaker acts as showrunner and co-writer on this Netflix series that peacefully drifts through a year in a shared residence for apprentice geisha in Kyoto.
CULTURE / Books
Oct 26, 2008

Memoirs of a modern-day geisha

BAR FLOWER: My Decadently Destructive Days and Nights as a Tokyo Nightclub Hostess, by Lea Jacobson. St. Martin's Press, 2008, 352 pp., $24.95 (cloth) There will never be a lack of visitors to Japan who want to share their impressions in print; and the stream of tears from confessional memoirs will...
Reader Mail
Jul 6, 2008

Foreigners who became geisha

Regarding the June 29 article "Aussie geisha speaks out": Why does The Japan Times identify Fiona Graham as the first foreign geisha? American anthropologist Liza Dalby (who spent her first year in Japan with a Saga City family in the 1960s) became a geisha more than 20 years ago. james guthrie
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 9, 2019

Fire breaks out at restaurant in Kyoto's Gion geisha district

A fire broke out Monday at a restaurant in an area of Kyoto popular with tourists, engulfing several neighboring buildings, police said.
Japan Times
JAPAN / History / JAPAN TIMES GONE BY
Apr 30, 2016

The German mischief maker here; Eating in London is real problem; New effort to rectify Japan's image planned; Ad-zapping VCR gains popularity

100 YEARS AGOWednesday, May 17, 1916
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Sep 28, 2008

Fall dramas about geisha, Ganesha and funereal pandemonium

NHK starts a new six-month-long asa-dora (morning drama) on Monday. These popular serials traditionally launch the careers of the young actresses who play the heroines, but "Dan Dan" (More and More; NHK-G, M-F, 8:15 a.m.; BS-2, M-F, 7:45 a.m.) stars twins Mana and Kana Mikura, who appeared in an asa-dora...
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Mar 10, 2006

Geisha under directors' gaze

The Steven Spielberg-produced "Memoirs of a Geisha" may have just walked away with three Academy Awards, but it left some cinemagoers, including many in Japan, underwhelmed.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Oct 20, 2014

Review: Wails to Whispers at SuperDeluxe, Tokyo

Visitors to Roppongi's SuperDeluxe last Friday arrived to find the basement venue decked out with tatami mats and a polite sign at the door asking them to remove their shoes on the way in. This was the setting for Wails to Whispers, one of the more conceptually ambitious events held during Red Bull Music...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 15, 2010

Kyoto geisha begin making preparations for New Year's

KYOTO (Kyodo) Geisha in Kyoto gave a seasonal greeting to their dance master Monday as part of the "kotohajime" event signaling the start of their preparations for the New Year's season.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Nov 4, 2007

Teacher's providing guidance, problem-solving geisha, secret police

Everyone's favorite junior-high-school teacher, Kimpachi-sensei (Tetsuya Takeda), is back for another season of sage advice for confused young minds on "San-nen B-gumi Kimpachi-sensei (Year 3 Class B: Teacher Kimpachi)" (TBS, Wednesday, 9 p.m.).
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 1, 2006

Aomori housing execs ordered to pay in 'Chilean geisha' case

AOMORI (Kyodo) A district court ordered five former Aomori prefectural housing corporation executives Tuesday to pay 42 million yen for failing to detect that an employee embezzled 1.4 billion yen over seven years.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Sep 23, 2001

Dream weavers of a bygone era

When made up for work, Norie is perhaps as close to the classic image of Japan as you could wish. Clad in a colorful yet demure kimono, wooden sandals and a jet-black wig that provides a striking contrast to the white makeup lavished on her fine features, she looks like a doll.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Dec 13, 2000

The willow world stripped bare

GEISHA: The Secret History of a Vanishing World, by Lesley Downer. London: Headline Books, 2000, 370 pp., 20 British pounds. A common question asked about geisha is: Do they or don't they? Their attraction seems balanced between artistic prowess and sex appeal, but just how often is the latter properly...
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Jan 8, 2006

'Sayuri' by any other name is still a sexist whitewash

Stereotypes die hard, and none more so than outsiders' stereotypes of Japan. Time and again, they are not so much reinvented as recycled, using potent but often semi-mythical symbols from a potpourri of favorite bygone eras. In the end, they tell us more about the foreigners who have dredged them up...
Japan Times
JAPAN / HOTEL SPECIAL 2015
Oct 16, 2015

Prince Park Tower offers taste of tradition

The Prince Park Tower Tokyo's Japanese traditional restaurant Shiba Zakura is offering two course menus to give diners a taste of authentic Japan through March 31.
LIFE / Lifestyle / JET STREAM
Dec 21, 2001

Seeking the broader picture

On a flight to Japan, the British writer Lesley Downer was surprised when her seat companion started berating her, mid-conversation. He was upset when he heard that she was writing a book on geisha. Better she write about the real Japan, rather than promote foreign stereotypes, the Japanese businessman...
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Nov 30, 2015

From 'samurai' to 'Hello Kitty,' search data show how the world's view of Japan has changed

Analytics data suggest Japan is better known abroad as the land of Hello Kitty than as a country full of swaggering samurai and mincing geisha.

Longform

Tour guide and history buff Rory Dent left his job at a U.K.-based tour operator to move to Japan and start his own business.
Guiding Japan through the challenges of overtourism