The first geisha were men
The white face make up used to be made with lead. The fact that it was poisionous wasn’t discovered until the Meiji era.
Maiko apply sugar water on top of their lip colouring to give them a shine
One kimono can take as long as 3 years to make. A successful geisha makes a point of pride of not wearing any kimono more than once, although it is common to pass it onto to others to wear.
“Geisha were trained to sleep with their necks on small supports (takamakura), instead of pillows, so they could keep their hairstyle perfect. To reinforce this habit, their mentors would pour rice around the base of the support. If the geisha’s head rolled off the support while she slept, rice would stick to the pomade in her hair” (Wikipedia)
Having a traditional geisha hairstyle can cause balding on the top of the head. Luckily, the use of wigs is common.
Ex-geisha Mineko Iwasaki received death threats after it was revealed that she had told “secret” information to Arthur Golden when he was researching his book “Memoirs of a Geisha”.
Steven Spielberg, Brett Ratner, Spike Jonze and Kimberly Peirce all considered directing “Memoirs of a Geisha”
The rickshaws used in “Memoirs of a Geisha” movie are from the The Last Samurai (2003). Ornamentation was added to make them look right for the period.
The film “Memoirs of a Geisha” was heavily criticized by Asian critics for having Chinese actresses portraying the geishas. In reality, according to producer Lucy Fisher, the producers held an open day for audition for Japanese actresses to audition for those roles. None turned up and they had to turn to other Asian actresses for casting.
(Memoirs of a Geisha movie trivia all from Internet Movie Database)
Geisha Fan said,
January 31, 2009 at 8:09 pm
Geisha girls always wear brillian colored Kimonos.
Ex-Geisha said,
March 2, 2009 at 5:45 am
Kimonos take a long time to make (three years) because of painting and embroidering.
Ex-Geisha said,
March 2, 2009 at 5:46 am
And they’re really heavy.
s said,
March 25, 2009 at 10:12 am
geishas suck
s said,
March 25, 2009 at 10:15 am
they really suck
s said,
March 25, 2009 at 10:16 am
no just kidding, theyre lovely people
n said,
March 25, 2009 at 10:17 am
i think the movie is beautiful and i think their lives are really hard. S, I don’t think they suck
VANESSA CASTRO said,
April 3, 2009 at 5:38 pm
I THINK THEY ARE TOTALLY NORMAL PROEPLE AND THEY JUST NEEED HELP BECAUSE THEY SPEND ALL THEIR TIME DEDICATIONG THEMSELF TO THE IS WHOLE GEISHA THING AND IT IS KINK OF RIDICULOUS