Mineko Iwasaki
Geisha is a traditional female Japanese entertainer whose skills include performing various Japanese arts such as classical music and dance. “Gei” means art while “sha” means the person or doer. These performing artists are elegant and precise but in order to get to the esteemed Geisha status, these women must go through several stages of disciplined training. Geisha houses of today are called Okiya. “The elegant, high-cultured world that are a part of is called the “Karyukai” or the flower and willow world.” There is some confusion still today about supposed prostitution amongst the Geisha and their clients. There are two types of female performers in Japan; Geisha and Oiran. They have the same hair, make up, and costuming but the Oiran knot their obi in the front for supposed easy removal. The Oiran are the ones that have been known to engage in sexual activity with their clients. Not Geisha.
Mineko Iwasaki, born Mineko Tanaka, was born on November 2, 1949. She is no longer a Geisha but in her late 20’s Iwasaki was Japan’s number one Geisha but retired at age 29. At an early age she left home to study Japanese traditional dance at the Geisha House in Kyoto at age five. She adopted the last name Iwasaki here when the owner Madame Oima adopted her. By age 21, she had earned the title of Japan’s best dancer. She performed for celebrities such as Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles. The downfall of her passion and fervor for Geisha started when she grew frustrated with the traditional bound world of being Geisha and then retired at her career’s peak.
Several years ago, Iwasaki agreed to be interviewed by writer Arthur Golden while he was in the process of writing “Memoirs of a Geisha.” Golden misused Iwasaki’s words and created a false vision of what Geisha life is like through the story in his book. Iwasaki was outraged and felt very betrayed by Golden. After Golden published his book, Iwasaki published her own autobiography in response to all of the untrue fictional accounts in Golden’s book. Because Iwasaki agreed to interviews with Golden for his book, she received death threats from certain people for supposedly “violating the traditional Geisha code.”
The Geisha performances are true and sacred to the Japanese culture. The traditional dance motions are very precise however very fluid as well. There is a maintained sense of control throughout the entirety of the performance. There are specific feet shuffling motions while their feet remain stationed on the ground. There are small gestures, not overly self-expressive and the women seem very careful about what they’re doing has a special feel to it.
This past weekend I did a performance inspired by Geisha dance and performance. While I am clearly not trained in their performing art, I did perform a dance that involved instruction and limitation. While wearing an authentic kimono and makeup, I performed outdoors for any passersby to engage and enjoy. An instructional line dance was chosen and played throughout my ipod throughout the performance. I felt strong and had an uncanny feeling of “I don’t care that people may think I am the most bizarre person right now”. This new addition to my performance series feels like a great step to something new and I feel that portraying women from other cultures can open up many doors into new and inventive performances.
Wiki Definition of Geisha
New York Times Article on Iwasaki and her fued with Arthur Golden
Time Magazine Article
Mineko's Bio
Geisha Dance on Youtube
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