can non japanese become geisha?

Hello,
There is an American Okami-san (proprietress of the Japanese traditional hot spring hotels) in Japan. She is famous because she is good in Japanese traditional manners and stuffs, and attracts a lot of Japanese guests. Why not a foreign Geisha, if there is a foreign Okami?
Check her at the fooling URL: http://www.ginzanonsen.jp/fujiya/
It is not impossible for non-Japanese become a Geisha. It should be much easier than becoming the president of United State, and can be as difficult as a Japanese becoming a major league baseball player and a foreigner becoming a sumo wrestler in Japan.
I am sure you know a lot of pioneers. Girls be ambitious!

there is a posibility that you could become a geisha. the extras on the memoirs of a geisha dvd tell of an american woman who made it. she is the only foreign woman who ever did it. i think that its what you really want, you should go for it.

I admire you for wanting to take up the occupation of a Japanese geisha. I've done much studying of the lifestyle, dress, and art of these beautiful artists. Liza Dalby, a friend of the author of Memoirs of a Geisha, trained the oriental actresses in the film version to perform, act, dance, and dress like the geisha. She herself was an American. There may be a small chance, but don't let that stop your dream. It's happened before. Also the geisha life isn't as strict as before, so read and research!!! Knowlege is power. I've learned so much! If you can't become one, you could study to at least be a master of the Geisha culture. It's an amazing feeling to teach others about an unknown culture. Good luck!

Konnichiwa.
I have read somewhere that you possibly can, but you must be extremely skilled in speaking Japanese and skilled in the Japanese traditional ways.

I want to become a geisha as well, but my parents would never allow it. I will one day go to Japan and become a geisha, even though I am...Caucasian. I am from America, but I want to live in Japan. I am 13 years old, and I will be 14 this year.
My true name is Kaitlyn.

I want to become a Geisha.I am young right now, so I want to be ONE.Can you help?

OK all you girls who want to become geisha. You're not going to get any answers here. If you really want to find out, contact Peter MacIntosh. He lives in Kyoto and knows all about geisha. See this website: http://www.kyotosightsandnights.com/
Write him an e-mail and see what he says.

If you really want something, nothing can stand in your way, but... the road to getting where you want to go can be long and painful.
By the way, Memoirs of a Geisha is a scam. There is nothing thruthfull about the book. The best book to read would be Geisha of Gion by Mineko Iwasaki. Arthur Golden makes Geisha's sound like common prostitutes. Mineko sued the guy by the way, and won.

I can tell by reading the posts of the many girls who want to be geisha that they haven't had much education about actual Japanese culture. It is very inclusive, and does NOT respond well to foreigners, especially foreigners trying to take their jobs. Also, girls like you are a dime a dozen, so why should an okiya (geisha house) spend time on you? As repeated several times, you must be fluent in Japanese to even get the most bargain basement of jobs. If you're not sure what fluent means, take a look at the Japanese Language Profiency Test Level 1- the level at which universities see if you can handle college-level material. I have a Japanese father and studied Japanese for 6 years in school. I barely passed it. I would like to believe it is possible for one of you ladies to study hard enough to become fluent, but after reading 20 or so posts that are littered in horrible english (and I'm referring to the obvious native English speakers here), I think it is safe to say by the time you reach that goal of Japanese language proficiency, you will be too old.

Here's a reality check: most okiya are going out of business. Japanese people on a whole either don't have the money for geisha to entertain them, or don't care. Japanese girls aren't becoming geisha for several reasons 1) it's just not cool to them 2) you can't go to high school 3) none of the money you make is yours, it belongs to your ''momma-san'' 4) you can't get married, or you have to retire (and a lot do, at about 25. Do you know what they do after that? Housewife duties. Would you be happy with that?) 5) you must leave your family behind for YEARS without seeing them once. I could go on. For all the perks of the training, it is a hard life. If some school advertises a way to become a geisha in ''easy steps'' for X amount, please don't reply. They are after your money.

Liza Dalby- to end the discussion- is an anthropologist who wrote some wonderful books on Japanese culture that most of you would find incredibly boring. Her book, ''Geisha'' has been mentioned, so has ''Murasaki''. The latter is historical fiction about Murasaki Shikibu, the author of The Tales of Genji (another great book). The former has been discussed, so I will leave it at that.

People, wanting to become something you're not is okay until it consumes your better judgement. Even if you had years of Japanese (and I don't mean high school Japanese, either), could afford the expense to relocate, and knew someone who could take you in, the possibility of hooking up with a geisha house is impossible because 1) if you weren't too old, you'd be 14ish, and 14ish as a foreigner means you'd need a special visa to stay in the country (a STUDENT visa, which means instead of geisha training YOU'D NEED TO GO TO SCHOOL!) and 2) geisha houses are notoriously family-run.

A few years ago, I was in your shoes...kinda...I wanted to study martial arts in Japan. I promise you, the obsession will pass. Put your passion into learning Japanese language and reading about the culture if you have to. Five years from now, you'll thank me.

I read all this and the negativity inspired me to start a website, I think that I should write don my experiences for other people that have the same dreams to draw strength from. I moved to Tokyo, became a Maiko, and reached my dream, and I'm from a farming town in Indiana, USA. If you'd like to hear how I did it, message me at Kagome1021@Hotmail.com so I can give you the site name when I'm finished with it. And shame on all of you that are telling Denise to abandon her dreams, you can reach anything if you truly want it.

Excuse me Kristin but you cannot be a maiko in Tokyo. Only place on this planet that has maiko is KYOTO not Tokyo.

I'm sorry but I have to agree that the chances are slim. Perhaps not impossible since yes there are non-Japanese sumo wrestlers but then again, from what I'm aware, women are still not allowed on "dohyo".

As it turns out, my grandfather was a "danna" of a geisha and had a child by her. Ilearned of this from my grandma who had found out when my grandfather passed away. She had visited my grandmother to apologize and my grandmother forgave her and my grandfather. She kept in touch with the lady for a number of years and sent gifts to the child (baby was a girl) which I never understood but my grandma would tell me that this is the noble way of taking care of things.

The geisha never married and raised her daughter on her own while running a bar/restaurant. Her daughter/my aunt was engaged at one point but it fell through once it was discovered that her mother is a geisha and the parents of the groom did not consent. She never did get married. I'm sure this is not the case for every geisha but just knowing of this first hand makes me sad. To love someone and have their child, for the child to have to secretly meet her father without ever having the chance to live under one roof...may not happen to every geisha but this is a possibility when commiting to this way of life.

Kyoto is a prominent Geisha city, seeing as it's the old capitol of Japan. A long time ago, my mother and I visited Shizuoka, in the shadow of Fujiyama, and no less than every other day did I see a Geisha or a Maiko. In Tokyo, there may be fewer Maiko, but they certainly do exist and are not limited only to Gion. Please, don't correct me on my life.

"maiko" is a Kyoto term (local dialect) for "geisha apprentices". I think it is only used to refer to geisha apprentices in Kyoto.

Of course, geisha and geisha apprentices also existed (and still exist today) in cities other than Kyoto, but they are usually not called by the Kyoto term "maiko."

I think this is what . meant when stating that there are no maiko in Tokyo.

Wow, this is the thread that won't die. But yes, Kyoto is the only place with maiko- Geisha in training in Tokyo are called 'hangyoku'. In Kyoto they say Geiko and Maiko, in Tokyo it's Geisha and Hangyoku.

I had forgotten that Geisha in Kyoto like to be called "Geiko," and I actually offended one of the Geiko by calling her a Geisha!

Why would you want to do something like that????? Love from another black sister

that you see in places like kyoto are not real geisha. In Gion especially, many businesses profit by charging tourists around $100-200 an hour to dress up like geisha, get photos taken and walk around. Most of them are fairly obvious. the shoes are very tall and difficult to walk in, and kimono is very heavy, so many stumble around. to all the girls wanting to be geisha: speaking from experience, even a yukata (summer kimono) can be very difficult to put on and wear, very hot in summer. Why would you want to spend an hour or so every day getting dressed to spend your evenings entertaining men who don't care about you personally, so long as you listen to them, flatter them, and treat them like a king? hopefully you have good strong knees, because you'll be spending a lot of time kneeling on the floor. and who knows if it's even possible to get a visa to do this anyway? who would sponsor you? a kimono that a regular woman might buy for a special occasion can cost thousands of dollars, and a kimono for a geisha would cost many times more. and you'd need a lot of kimono. that's just that cost. Lessons would be very expensive, and all the different services necessary to get ready.you'd be in debt for years. why would you want that?

It's my dream to be a Geisha, mabey not one who is reconized as a true one, not anymore at least. But my dream is as real as any of your dreams, so why would you question me? I haven't looked upone yours and asked you why? I am a determined girl, and even if I don't make it,as a REAL Geisha, I will have the training,even if I have to go half way around the wotld to get it. My mind is made up, and no one is going to tell me that I can't or that it's impossible for me. I won't listen and i'll get there, I've been told 'NO' all my life,and this is the one thing I really want.And to all thoes girls out there who want to become REAL Geisha, give up that dream and go for the training. Read up, train yourself if you have to, go to anime cons and make connections. By chance I happened to spot a lady who teaches how to do tea ceriomnies, and she gave me a short lesson, for free.That was about five years ago and I've forgotten how to do it, but hey, I can lean it again. So you see, if you just look around, and try, REALLY hard, nothing is impossible. Just don't aim for something that probally won't happen. Go for something that could or can happen if you work hard enough for it.

I know the dance of Gion Kouta and am starting to learn how to sing the song. Can someone please tell me why kyoto has a different tone of japanese, and how people understand it. It is very hard for me (being an american). And what are the steps in becoming a geiko and how you whould get a okasan accept you into her house. please answer back
thank you

Don't forget to check the rest of the answers! Lots of info there. Kyoto dialect has different vocab, verb forms and intonation from the Japanese of other areas, even when they speak, so the songs sound different too.

As for how to become a geisha in Japan, there is no well-trodden path for foreigners to do this.

All I can suggest is you come to Kyoto and approach one of the geisha houses- with your perfect Japanese language skills all ready of course, as that's a compulsory requirement.

I recommend not getting your hopes up too high.