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Show m i , I ! ,fi Gets as of Japan H h "Geisha," the professional girl entertainer of H S , Japan, Is by no means to be confounded with B Vi "Geinin." The word Geisha really means actor, B ,1 I "gel" meaning a play or entertainment of any B IB , sort; and "sha" means a person. For instance, B w l i-sha means physician, and so on. The word B m l , really means what "actor" does in. English, but B , j "j it has come to mean only those girls in Japan B . j who are trained to entertain by dancing and B J singing to the shamisen and koto, the usual musi- B ! cal instruments for light entertainments; and B i they are also trained to converse agreeably on B topics of the day, "Geinin," on the other hand, B ; I while it really means the same thing as golsha, B has now come to be applied to artists, in a higher B sense. 8? The name thus given to a class of women, ! though it seems a perfectly respectable one, does, in fact, sound otherwise to the ears of a Japanese. 1 H It is not in their occupation in a legitimate sense, Ih that geisha are undesirable to have in a well- ' disciplined home, but in. a certain, unpleasant reputation, that is naturally due to the circum- p stance of their calling. The geisha are trained to entertain men, and '! not their own sex. They are the professional V entertainers of the cities of the empire and are well paid for their services. The women of Ja- j S pan, unlike those of Western countries, have lit- j ,' tie part in social functions, and the enjoyments I j of the men. are not shared by their wives and 1 1) daughters. "When a man. or a party of men wishes ! to arrange some social entertainment they ex- I pect the amusement of the occasion to be f ur- . j nished by pretty and altogether charming H I L geisha. Generally these affairs are held in tea H I H houses, and it is customary to engage certain H j jl geisha who are generally known by what would H j ! be called in the Western, world their stage names. H , These are names of flowers, gems, seasons, or in- H : , - I deed anything of great beauty and attractiveness, H j ! . and are generally known as "flower names." H j M Such names ai'e O Kiku San which means the H t "Honorable Miss Chrysantliemum;" or O Tama H j San, which is the "Honorable Miss Jewel;" or 0 H ' Haru San, the "Honorable Miss Spring." The H jl "O," which means "honorable," is used only be- H w j ' fore words of one or two syllables, "Miss Came- ! lia," for instance, would be Tsubaki San, merely. These girls are possessed of wonderful charm ' and play havoc with the hearts of the young men of Tokio aLd the other cities. Many of them H ffi 1 marry distinguished men, and the wives of some H m j of the most prominent men in Japan today were m y& ! geisha. They are especially alluring to the 1 n j " young college men of Japan. Some of the univer- E j U sities have found it necessary to make very strict H W j" rules in regard to the students consorting with M j! j 5 the geisha, and some forbid it entirely. fThe geisha make a very pretty show in the tw gay life of the cities, as they ar trained to bear Km m themselves well and be vivacious at all times H ! ' and they dress luxuriously and in exquisite style. Bj 1 j They have the principal boxes at theaters and B $ j at all public places But they have no social K m j rank. They do not form, as is too often sup- Kj 'I ; posed by Westerners, a class of demi-mondaine, Hj m as that class is known in London, Paris and New H V S York; but they are considered as entirely too free H 111 in their manners to be admitted into good society. H! W It is probable that the geisha will disappear BK m i1 before the enfranchisement of women in Japan. MM H m Formerly the Japanese woman was not permitted jK I 1 to take part in social entertainment, and this Hf 1 I function fell to the professional entertainer. Men H m ; found the geisha far more amusing than the vo- H i I men of their own acquaintance in society, and B 1 I, this led to the creation of this peculiar class. Now H 1 H that education is accomplishing for women in HS 1 1 Japan what it has accomplished for women in Hra 1 France, England and America, it is evident that SmIH he day o tlie seisna is passing. It needs only ah opportunity for development to show that the musme, the Japanese girl, can be as entertaining and as interesting as the most charming geisha of Kyoto which has attained the bad eminence of producing the most beautiful and entertaining geisha in the Japanese empire. Japanese Mail. |