Posts Tagged: geisha

All Posts / Culture / Entertainment — 2 Comments
1
Apr 11

Japanese Host and Hostess Clubs

If you’re familiar with geisha culture–and not the Western stereotype that a geisha is a Japanese prostitute–you know that formally entertaining a guest is an integral part of Japanese culture. There’s a proper Japanese way to interact with guests and your host even in a casual or business setting. The geisha culture is similar to basic Japanese host-guest interactions but is somewhat set apart because guests pay for the hosting ability of the geisha. The aim of the geisha is to make her (paying) guest feel special and doted upon, even if she’s never met the guest before.

While the geisha still exist in small numbers, the more prevalent modern example of hosting of this type is the hostess club or the host club. The goal of a hostess or host club is somewhat similar to that of the geisha. The guests at these establishments pay the club and select a host or hostess (or two or three) to entertain them. The host or hostess puts aside his or her own feelings and makes the guest feel loved and lavish attention on them. They engage in conversations that appeal to the guests and they may even pour alcohol, much like a geisha would.

However, the geisha is a nationally cherished Japanese performer and is often an expert in a traditional Japanese art. She also wears an elaborate traditional costume. Modern hosts and hostesses dress up–sometimes in a thematic outfit, depending on the establishment, but usually in stylish eveningwear–but they only receive basic training from the establishment. While geisha can train for years as teenagers and go on to entertain their whole lives, hosts and hostesses normally only look at the job as a way to earn pretty good money. Most hosts and hostesses are between the ages of 18 and 25 and are asked to retire from the profession after that. They need to be attractive as well. Geisha are beautiful in their own way, but being a stunning beauty is not absolutely required.

Another great difference is the host club. While the hostess club is somewhat more reminiscent of the traditional geisha culture, in that women are paid to entertain male guests, host clubs are just the opposite: male hosts being paid to entertain female guests.

Attending a host or hostess club can be pricey, so be prepared to spend the equivalent of hundreds of dollars–mostly on drinks, but there may be a minimum charge. The hosts or hostesses will continue throughout the night to encourage you to spend more money at the clubs, so be cautious. The more money you spend, the more attention you’ll get.

Have you ever been to a host or hostess club? Would attending such a club interest you? Why or why not?

All Posts / Culture / Places — No Comments
31
May 10

Kyoto: The Original Capital of Japan

With nearly 1.5 million residents, the city of Kyoto in the Kyoto Prefecture is the 7th largest city in Japan, but it’s also one of the nation’s most important cities, in terms of history and culture. The city, located about 300 miles southwest of Tokyo (and accessible from Tokyo in around 3 ½ hours by train), is centrally inland, so you can’t see the Pacific Ocean or the Sea of Japan from the city limits. The large population’s water needs are met by the plethora of locations at which a water table breaks through the ground’s surface, leading to attractive ponds and small lakes. There are also three rivers surrounding the city: the Kamogawa, the Katsuragawa, and the Ujigawa.

Home to historic locations such as the Kinkaku-ji (Golden Pavilion Temple), Kyoto was once Japan’s capital city for a period of almost 1100 years from 794 CE to 1868 CE. (There was a brief time in the 1180s CE, however, in which it was not the capital.) During this time, Kyoto was known as Heian-kyo. Kyoto was home to the imperial family for all of these years, even when the imperial family lost much of its power to the shoguns (military leaders), so it served as the nation’s capital, at least on paper. In fact, the label of “capital” was never officially transferred from Kyoto to Tokyo in the 1800s even after the imperial family moved, so there are some who believe that Kyoto remains the capital officially, despite the modern government being seated in Tokyo.

Originally modeled after the Chinese city of Xi’an (at the time the capital of the Tang Dynasty), the city of Kyoto retains much of its imperial and historical significance. There are plenty of modern buildings, but there are far more historic buildings per square mile than you would find in Tokyo and much more of the traditional history is preserved in Kyoto culture. For example, the most prestigious area of geisha culture remains in Kyoto, not Tokyo. Other sites of interest include the Heian Shrine, the Shimogamo Shrine, the Daigo-ji, Ninna-ji, and much more.

The American military knew about Kyoto’s rich cultural and historical significance to Japan and strongly considered Kyoto as a target for the atomic bomb during World War II, hoping to devastate the Japanese people’s morale by destroying so much of their history at once. However, it was spared from the atomic bomb and even from the rest of the bombings thanks to Edwin O. Reischauer, a “Japan expert” liaison to the U.S. military (and later ambassador to Japan), who had been to Kyoto and wanted to preserve its beauty.

Have you ever been to Kyoto? What’s your favorite historical site in Kyoto? Do you agree with America’s World War II decision to spare Kyoto in favor of Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Tokyo (which was devastated by firebombing), and other cities? Why or why not?