Can A Geisha Get Married? Get the Facts!
There is no one answer to this question as it depends on the particular Geisha. Some geishas may choose to get married, while others may not. There are a few reasons why a geisha might decide to get married.
- One reason could be that she falls in love and wants a traditional wedding ceremony.
- Another reason could be that she wants to start a family.
However, there are also a few reasons why a geisha might choose not to marry.
- One reason could be that she does not want to give up her career as a geisha.
- Another reason could be that she is afraid of losing the support of her patrons if she gets married.
It is up to the Geisha whether she wants to marry. They can’t be Geisha after they get married. So they have to choose. Some do, and some don’t. There are pros and cons to both decisions.
Can Geisha Fall In Love?
Yes, Geisha are capable of falling in love. However, their careers often make it difficult for them to have traditional marriages. Some geisha find ways to marry, but their husbands usually take on secondary roles to support their wife’s work.
Geisha are often stereotyped as being emotionless and sexually promiscuous. In reality, they are just as capable of feeling love and passion as anyone else is.
Of course, it can be difficult for a geisha to have a relationship with a client. If she were to become too emotionally attached to someone not her Danna or patron, she could lose the support of those around her.
Many Geisha find lasting relationships with men, but their marriages are often unconventional.
For instance, the husband of a geisha might be a businessman who travels frequently or is not involved in the entertainment industry. The husband often takes on a secondary role to support his wife’s work.
Geisha and Prostitution:
Geisha, like prostitutes, sell their bodies. However, they are not selling sex; instead, they sell an experience through dance and conversation.
Geisha are female entertainers who act as hostesses in Japan. Their skills include performing various Japanese arts such as classical music, dance, and games.
The modern Geisha still live in lodging houses (okiya) at the edge of towns (the same as their antecedents did during the Edo period ).
Geishas are usually born into the profession due to familial connections or sold into it by their poverty-stricken families.
Can Geishas Have Babies?
While it is true that geishas are not allowed to marry, they can have children. Many geishas do have children.
However, their children’s fathers are often unknown because they cannot marry. This is one of the reasons why geishas are not considered to be full-fledged women.
Another reason geisha cannot become full-fledged women is that they sell their art, not themselves.
Additionally, it is common for geishas to have platonic relationships with men; therefore, many have children without marriage.
How Did Geisha Avoid Pregnancy?
The answer is they did get pregnant, just not often. It’s just that no one talks about it. Maybe because there were not many recorded cases of pregnancy in the Geisha culture.
To put things into perspective, the average life expectancy for a Japanese woman in the Edo period was 25 years old. Half would die in childbirth. That is why, perhaps, no one talks about it.
It is also possible that the culture of sex workers in Japan had prolonged virginity for its prostitutes as a norm.
Japanese historian Yoshiya Nobuko writes that early Japanese prostitution was not only sexually indulgent but also involved spiritual and artistic elements.
It can be deduced from this that the Geisha society was initially designed to care for virgins before marriage.
What Happens If A Geisha Became Pregnant
In addition, even if Geisha got pregnant, those children were immediately removed from the family register once married.
In other words, those children would not exist in official documents, implying that their citizenship rights could be easily denied.
- Pregnancy allowed Geisha from poor families to raise their social status.
- But for those with wealthy patrons, pregnancy could be detrimental.
Without protecting a man’s name or family, they would lose everything they worked so hard for.
As some historians mentioned, this also meant that Geisha would likely adopt foundlings.
There were also cases where Geisha would abandon their children to avoid social condemnation and work as if nothing happened.
Do Geisha Still Exist?
They still exist today in Japan but not like before.
The modern-day Geisha has taken on the role of a hostess rather than an entertainer; she works in bars and nightclubs and entertains men by pouring their drinks, having light conversations, and flirting.
Prostitution was never considered a part of geisha tradition, but it is now widespread amongst modern-day geishas.
Geishas were once not allowed to marry or have children and were considered members of the nobility; this is no longer the case.
Geishas can now marry and have children, but they are less common.
There are several reasons for this:
- Firstly, the cost of becoming a geisha is very high, and it takes many years to become a fully-fledged geisha. A woman who becomes a geisha gives up her chance to have a family and children.
- Secondly, a geisha’s traditional skills are no longer in demand as they once were; with modern technology and entertainment, people are no longer interested in learning about or watching conventional Japanese arts such as music, dance, and tea ceremony.
Geisha can be roughly divided into three types:
- Traditional Geisha (who entertain by performing Japanese arts),
- Modern geisha (hostess),
- And Social geishas (university graduates who have taken on the role of modern-day geisha).
The last type is probably the most common amongst geishas today and can be found in most major cities in Japan.
