So I just had to write about my experience with Gion Odori. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Gion it is known mostly for being a geisha/geiko and maiko district. I really like it there and they have great shops and beautiful Yasaka Jinja is amazing.
Geisha are real. VERY real. Every year the geiko and maiko of this district put on famous dances in the fall and spring. One of the things that I really wanted to do was to go down to the fall dances. Today was that day. And it was awesome.
This was one of the things that I pushed myself out the door to do. Normally I will just tag along with anyone else, but this time I was the one going no matter what. I decided to be proactive in what I wanted for a change. I think this is a big step for me and this is a great time to move in that direction in my life. I asked other people if they wanted to go and they said sure and I was the one to go down to Gion Odori prior to the actual performance to buy the tickets. It was the first time I was somewhat officially by myself- and it was nice! The ladies there were very kind and everything went smoothly. I was set to go!
Originally I wanted to wear my yukata but that is a whole other problem...Yukata are mainly for summer and I would look silly in one in the fall and not to mention I found out the hard way this morning when trying to put one on by myself. Let's just say that I need a bit more renshuu....SHOUT OUT TO TAMANA! Thank you so much for helping everyone with their yukata for bazaars and stuff!
Any way, so we all decided to dress nicely and head down today. Gion Odori was the bomb. Like awesome the bomb. They danced so beautifully and to be honest, I felt like a little kid on Christmas Eve.... it was awesome. There was a geisha sitting close by us in the crowd and her hair was unbelieveable and she was so pretty. They all were so pretty. This brings me to another point. My host mother doesn't really like seeing them dance. After I got back home and wanted to show her pictures, we had a discussion about geiko-san and maiko-san. It was one of the first times that I had heard a Japanese person say that they didn't really think geisha were beautiful. I was somewhat shocked, but I wanted to know why. I wanted to know what okaasan's opinion was.
She said something very important and I totally understood her. I think one reason why my okaasan doesn't indulge in these events is because she doesn't support the lifestyle that geisha lead. She tried explaining to me that she thought that they could not really live a happy life for themselves. They could not really have families or go back to a 'normal' way of life. I got the feeling that she thought the world of geisha was a fantasy world and not at all beautiful.
I do agree with her. The whole concept is just fascinating. And very much mysterious. I am glad to have had this discussion with Okaasan. I have gained more of an insider's view and opinion of the world of geisha. And actually, I think I might want to explore this more academically in the future. All in all, today....was a great day!
What is beauty? What do real women think of these 'fantasy' women? Questions like these and much more well thought out questions are sure to come. I just don't really have the time right now seeing as I have to complete my essay! ....And study for a kanji quiz....
Jya ne!~
Ashlee
ps- here's a link to what i saw somewhat...except this link is for the spring dances i think...check it out!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AUY5REBtXc&feature=related
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