"GAY" GEISHA GIRSL:

NZ Truth, Issue 119, 28 September 1907, Page 7

"GAY" GEISHA GIRSL:

FRIVOLOUS, FASCINATING FAIRIES. The Slaves of the Salacious. The Fate of the Geisha Stated.

The* life of the "gay" geisha girls of Japan has always been a matter having considerable interest for English readers ; and, m a recent . issue of "Reynolds's Newspaper," the geisha girl's life is thus entertainingly descri'l-od :—

. The almond-eyed damsels, who beguile with song and dance the idle hours of visitors to Japanese teahouses, possess a subtle fascination for travellers from Western lands. In the tolerant atmosphere of the Far East they areas much a part of the life of the country as a bandstand m a public park is m England—a comparison which it would be unfair to carry further, however, as the geisha girl views the art of entertaining the .public from a very Bohemian > standpoint. But though to the, casual patron of a tea-house the geisha girls seem a natural accompaniment of the enter-* tainrnent, m reality they have to undergo a long and exacting course of training m dancing, singing, and playing, and to acquire also aptitude m conversation, together WITH BEWITCHING MANNERS. According to a private correspondent i,n Tokios these tea-house apprentices have to undergo terrible hardship. 4 ;. Sometimes,, on bitterly cold nights, the little girls are sent upon the housetops to sing until it is no longer possible to make a sound, for the long period of hoarseness that follows imparts a desired timbre to their voices. The hours of their practice are long and their lessons hard. They must know many, many dances and. games, and the greater the number of their accomplishments, of course, the bTighfter is their future. Whsn they have learned to play sufficiently well on a musical instrument they are sent' -but to feasts with the older geisha, and as they take some little part m the music which accompanies the dance, they observe, for future use, the manner of the geisha towards the guests. The money they receive is given over to their master. He it is who provides them with their garments, often of indescribable beauty. Only geisha, by virtue of their profession, may wear such elaborate garments, and they heighten Ihe effect -toy MANY LITTLE TRICKS of dress, not permissible m other women. Tho romance of the little geisha girls are often unutterably sad. The brightest future they may look forward to is that they may sufficiently win the favor of some man to have him redeem their liberty. But at the 1 feast, while they dance, no sadness is apparent. Imagine yourself seated o n the floor before a tiny table, at a Japanese' baavnjiet. Before the dancers , enter, older geisha, more soberly dressed, take their places upon the floor, and play upon stringed instruments and •little drums, ma-kiwg sounds that seem weird and unmusical, yet undeniably fascinating. Are the radiant creatures who follow, m their soft trailing silks ami ! brilliant obi,, with costumes an a ban- ! don of richness, girls or are they women ? You do not know, and you cannot know, for the little girls, under (.heir smiling childlike faces, con- ! ceal thp experience of women, and the ' ■•wonrw>n {.re-fn many wpvs but little ■tittildren. They are puzzling and bewildering and beautiful. That is all, '

;rou know. Their dance, a series of j poses, expresses an idea, or a poem, ias our mupic. The charm of the motion is the little feet m spotless white tabi, m the obedient motion of their j silken draperies upon the floor, the fluttering of the long sleeves, the position of the head, and the opening and closing and undulating of a fan, that speaks and lives as a fan can live and speak only m the hands of a JAPANESE DANCING- GIRL.

During the dance the geisha do not smile ; afterwards, as they fill your cup and set viands before you, they laugh and chatter gaily. Their conversation is full of little personal compliment and solicitude for your comfort. If you are a European woman m evening dress they pretend, to fear greatly lest you are cold.

With deep concern they look up at you, touch your gown lightly and say that it is very beautiful ; they wish they might wear gowns like it (you know the while . that m their secret souls they think it atrociously dgly); but they are afraid you are cold; how beautiful it must toe to' wear one's hair dressed so. they continue m Japanese, but with their straight black hair they say that they would not look well. And all, your necklace ■! and may they see your . rings ? Unfortunate, miserable Japanese women.

When they resume their dance their faces agip.in become quite grave. A Japanese man, m comparing the European and Japanese idea of grace m dancing, suddenly remarked on the gravity of the faces of the Japanese girls during the dance, and asked the reason of one of the r plder womem. who played the Samiseti. Her answer was enlightening. "When, the geisha are having their lessons, she said, th?y are strictly enjoined not to SMILE WHEN DANCING ; for, as they are standing, and the guests seated on the floor, . a smile from such an pngle? might appear somewhat supercilious. The geisha dance m its most, elaborate aspect may be seen m the "Myoko 0 dor," given during one week of the cherry blossom season by ifor geisha girls ofKioto. Several hundred geisha, dressed alike m the most brilliant raiment, and during a part of the dance carrying fans and during another part carrying branches of cherry blossoms, dance continuously for two hours.

The last movement, which is most complicated and. captivating, *\is elaborated to an indescriibable degree Of Oriental splendor by the radiance of thousands of lights and the fall inn: of a fluttering cloud of cherry blossoms.