Japan's Geisha culture is no less than our Peking Opera, so how did they develop?

"Geisha" is a Japanese performing profession that has evolved into what can really be called an art today. Geisha emerged in the 17th century in the Kyoto and Osaka regions of Japan, and the earliest Geisha were all men, and were slowly replaced by women until about the middle of the 18th century, and continue to be so to this day.

Geisha first appeared in the 17th century in Kyoto, Yasaka Shrine area, Yasaka Shrine in the time is considered the Kyoto area is one of the most famous shrine, not only is the famous history is also very long, every day there will be a lot of people come to worship, the surrounding stores were also driven up, and gradually the surrounding area is formed a shopping district! The city's main shopping area is the Shrine of the Lord of the Rising Sun!

There are many small stores called "mizutaya" in the shopping district, where people come to worship and take a rest. With so many stores, business was hard to come by, and in order to attract business, the men in the stores would sing and dance to attract customers, which is how the early Geisha came to be!

This method did have a good effect on soliciting customers. Later, this style of performance was introduced in other places, especially in the "pleasure grounds" of the war years, where they attracted large numbers of customers with their delicate dances and beautiful songs. The official Geisha was born!

In the middle of the 18th century, many women gradually joined the ranks of the Geisha, most of whom were very beautiful, with a softer figure and a more beautiful voice than the male Geisha, and were more widely accepted. Geisha are mainly engaged in song and dance performances, and occasionally they will also accompany a drink, although there is also an element of "selling laughter", but geisha are absolutely only selling their art, not their bodies. Geisha in order to show the purity of the profession during the period can not get married and have children, this for the art and dedication to the spirit of the Japanese locals admire, so in Japan Geisha is very respected!