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Aihara stated that the training period for maiko is called minarai or learning by observation. During minarai, a maiko does not speak too much at the
banquets; but only observes the ‘sister’- a senior geisha who becomes her sister. She observes her sister to learn about the proper social behavior in a banquet.
Generally, a maiko wears brighter colored kimono with long sleeves or furisode that reach her ankles when they are held to the side. Her sash or obi reaches the
back of her knees and it is wide around her waist 66. The older the geisha, the better she is. It is because an older geisha is the
best conversationalist and the real master of geisha skills. The most important quality of a geisha is her trustworthiness. Any information about and conversation
with the clients must be kept as a secret. A geisha even has some code names for her favorite clients and if she tells a story about them, she will never reveal their
names. A geisha who reveals her clients’ secret will be requested to commit seppuku
commit suicide by stabbing her own stomach in front of others since she is considered for dishonoring her proffesion.
c. World of Geisha
According to Perkins, the geisha world is poetically known as karyukai or ‘the flower and willow world’. It is supported by the fact that geisha still wear
beautiful and expensive kimono, elegant hairstyles and stylized heavy white make up known as o-shiroi or ‘honorable white’. It is because for the Japanese, a
geisha’s face is a gentle guardian of the Japanese tradition 203. PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
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Geisha are different from prostitutes. They do work together in hanamachi but do different things. The women who work as prostitutes are divided into
many ranks. The courtesans oiran or tayu, women who sold their sexual favors to wealthy or aristocratic clients, take the highest rank. The joro or yuna,
prostitutes who work in public bathhouses, take the lowest rank. Geisha’s profession is based on preserving the traditional arts such as dancing, singing,
playing music instrument and entertaining in a non-sexual manner. A geisha will hint at her sexuality, but she will never flaunt it. Hence, geisha do not engage in
sex with all of the customers. Arthur Golden said that the role of the geisha is to provide female
companionship as men and women do not socialize freely in Japan. The
companionship here means performing music or dance, pouring sake, telling
stories and in some cases involving sexual activity. However, the sexual activity only happens with certain people; they are the mizuage patron and the danna.
http:www.bookbrowse.comreviewsindex.cfm?book_number=332 accessed on
September 3, 2007 An
apprentice geisha, a maiko, has to undergo the sexual initiation which
is called mizuage. Mizuage is the deflowering process, where the maiko’s virginity is sold to the highest bidder. After a maiko undergoes the mizuage, she
later can be called as a geisha. Aihara 51-55 stated that a geisha is considered as a succesful geisha if
she has a wealthy danna. The word ‘danna’ is actually translated as husband, but PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
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in this context it means a geisha’s financial patron; with whom she is involved emotionally, sexually and economically. The relationship between a geisha and
her danna starts when a man proposes himself as the geisha’s danna and then hold a ceremony as ‘husband and wife’ in a teahouse. When a man becomes a
geisha’s danna, he has many obligations toward the geisha and her okiya. The man is obliged to pay the geisha’s debt to the okiya, pay her schooling and cover
her expenses of make up, kimono, jeweleries or even apartment. Perkins stated that Japanese social customs differentiate between wives,
who were dutiful mothers and home managers, and women who provided sensual pleasures. Men are not stigmatized for seeing prostitutes, unless they fall in love
and neglect their family duties. Geisha are not considered as a threat to marriages in the Japanese culture. Actually, the relationship between a man and his geisha is
not based on love and is not meant to disturb the man’s marriage and family. Generally, a wife knows who her husband’s geisha is, and in fact, during the
Obon Festival and New Year’s celebration, a geisha will visit the house of the important customers and bring presents for the wife 58-59.
C. Theoretical Framework
The writer uses three theories and a review of Japanese culture to answer the problem formulation in this study. The theory of critical approach is used to find
an appropriate approach to analyze the novel Memoirs of a Geisha, which is PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
