Geisha guise

THERE are so many misconceptions about geisha, says Jill Clay, artist, businesswoman, and lover of all things Japanese. “Many believe that they are prostitutes, but in fact they are well-respected figures in Japanese society.

“Highly-trained party hostesses, they are hired to entertain with their beauty, elegance and charm, as well as their skill in the arts of traditional Japanese music and dance.”

For as long as she can remember, Jill has been captivated by the enigmatic appeal of the geisha, and for the past couple of years has been organising trips to Kyoto and bringing geisha to the UK to perform.

Last year, she organised the successful Festival of Japan in Durham, and has provided hostesses for corporate and charity events all over the UK.

Her business, which she runs from her home at Gilling West, near Richmond, North Yorkshire, has gone from strength to strength, and she organises workshops, Japanesethemed hen weekends and weddings, and geisha makeovers.

SINCE dressing up as a geisha is something most Japanese women can only dream of, with outfits often costing tens of thousands of pounds, I can’t resist the once-in-a-lifetime chance to try it for myself.

So in the unlikely setting of the beautiful, if thoroughly British, Yorkshire Dales, I begin my transformation.

While my make-up is being applied – white face with bright red lips and pink eyeshadow – Jill explains how the misconceptions surrounding geisha arose. “When the Americans came to Japan after the Second World War, many girls would paint their faces white, call themselves geisha girls and prostitute themselves,”

she says. “The soldiers would go home and say ‘I slept with a geisha girl’, and that is where the myth comes from.

“Originally, true geisha were concubines, but absolutely not any more. We want people to see what they do as artists and get away from this big misconception.”

In fact, geisha are taken on by geisha boarding houses from the age of 15 and train in the traditional arts for one year, before specialising in either music or dance and becoming a maiko until they are 21.

The training in the arts of music, dance, the tea ceremony, language and being a firstclass hostess, takes about six years. Then they become fully-fledged geisha – also known as geiko – in Kyoto.

After my make-up has been applied, the arduous task of dressing me begins.

Jill has studied the art of Japanese dressing for years, and regularly travels to Kyoto to learn new skills.

First comes the nagajuban, or petticoat, which is a plain cotton affair meant to protect the expensive silk kimono from perspiration – a good job, considering the whole regalia weighs about 40lb, which can be as much as two-thirds of a geisha’s body weight. Next comes the furisode – the kimono itself.

The one chosen for me is red silk with beautiful green and gold embroidery, typical of the style worn as a wedding gown in Japan.

On top of the kimono goes the obi ita, a plastic pad which wraps around the waist. Unlike Western tastes, which tend towards an hourglass shape, Japanese men apparently prefer a woman of more conical proportions, and so the padding is used to disguise the waist.

As Jill says: “They don’t like a lot of breasts and legs on show. The back of the neck is what’s emphasised.”

And indeed, many geisha wear kimono cut low at the back, with white make-up painted in downward streaks to elongate the neck.

ASILK sash, or obi, is then wrapped around, fastened elaborately at the back around a pillow pad known as an obi makura. Then comes another, much smaller scarf which covers the pillow, and an obi gime (silken cord) holds the whole thing together.

After slipping my feet into a pair of white tabi socks and zori shoes – platform flipflops made out of wood – I am ready for the final flourish.

She reaches into a beautiful wooden carrying case and presents me with an antique katsura, an elaborate wig made from human hair. Traditionally, it is only when a geisha has completed her training that she is allowed to wear a wig. With all her engagements, she simply would not have the time to maintain her hairstyle to the standard required. Jill tells me this wig is about 150 years old.

After adding some hair ornaments, called kanzashi, and the crucial fan, or sensu, to help me cool down, I am starting to feel and even walk, according to Jill, like a geisha.

(You certainly couldn’t run in this.) As I totter around Jill’s front room, after two hours spent under transformation, I begin to gain a new respect for the geisha. They are women who spend years learning their country’s traditional crafts, maintaining punishing training regimes under strict and sometimes harsh conditions.

Jill says that before the Second World War there were hundreds of thousands of geisha in Japan. Now, there are only 300.

“Seeing geisha is beyond the dreams of most Japanese natives, so bringing them to the UK is a oncein- a-lifetime chance. My love of Japan has led me and my family to experiences beyond our wildest dreams: travelling to Kyoto, meeting geisha and bringing them back to the UK.

“Our lives revolve around the Japanese culture, and my aim is to let everyone know about this beautiful, diverse and enigmatic country.”

■ Jill provides services including Kyoto and UK weddings, geisha make-up workshops, Kyoto craft and culture tours, and hostesses for corporate events. For more details or to contact her, visit festivalofjapan.co.uk