Let Me Entertain You

IN THE JAPANESE world of high technology, good cars and the perfection of the capitalist system, geishas seem an anachronism. In a sense they are; they represent and transmit traditional Japanese culture and typify the most exotic and obvious symbol of Japan.

Most Americans have sooner or later encountered an image of the geisha. She is dressed in a traditional kimono, dark hair piled into a stylized coiffure and face painted ivory white. Despite the familiarity of the symbol most Americans are either unknowledgeable about what a geisha is or believe her to be a prostitute.

Liza Dalby's Geisha does much to correct the misimpressions, and in the process reseals an amusing, fascinating world that preserves the past by holding banquets and entertaining modern Japanese businessmen. Dalby's book is written with a sympathy and understanding for the geisha world that brings these women to life. There are flaws in Dalby's elegantly written book, for it too often concentrates on the form of Geisha life rather than the actual substance.

Dalby has good reason to be concerned about geishas in a way that goes beyond mere academic concern. As an anthropology student doing field research for her Ph.D dissertation, she became the first non-Japanese woman to be accepted into the geisha community and became the geisha lchgiku.

Geishas are not prostitutes, as is commonly assumed among Americans. But because of the nature of their profession there is a certain risque and taboo element to their life. Geisha are entertainers; they are hired by small gatherings of men for evening amusement at banquets. Geisha perform traditional dances and songs, pour sake for the customers and provide the services of a very well-trained and amusing hostess who make parties run smoothly.

Most Americans--mindful of the nature of a geisha's work--react with disdain and shock. Women whose sole purpose is to entertain men seem outrageously chauvinist. It's not a new discovery that Japan is a male-dominated society, and Dalby certainly does not deny that, on the surface, the job of being a geisha might appear degrading. But she enters the world of the geisha and discovers--surprisingly--a world of women with a strong sense of independence, self-respect and love for the art which is their job. In short, geisha lead an intriguing life that offers meaning and respect.

Not that geisha's lives do not revolve around men. Geisha take lovers and have parlors who give them money and support them. Taking a patron is never obligatory and, unlike most Japanese women, geisha don't feel an intense social pressure to marry.

Geisha is full of anecdotes about the social life of the geisha, but interestingly enough, Dalby concentrates on the interpersonal geisha relationships rather than supplying the reader with what is most fascinating--how a banquet is run and what it is in particular about geisha that make them so exotic. The occasions when she describes the course of a banquet are some of the most amusing in the book. It is not surprising that Dalby conveys a greater interest in the internal world of the geisha--how the women relate to one another. And what she finds in the Kyoto community of geisha that she studied is a world dominated by women tied together with bonds of kinship often more intimate than those of family. The night, though, is devoted to men.

Geisha have varied reasons for entering their profession; some are devoted to the art which they practice, others want the freedom, while still more are attracted to the exotic world of "the flower and willow" as it is called, but plan one day to drop out and get married Despite the reasons for joining, no geisha practices her livelihood without art.

Geisha began in the 17th century as entertainers for prostitutes, and given that dubious beginning it is no wonder that geisha have always been associated with a sensual way of life. Originally geisha were the innovators in fashion and music; they were the vanguard of society. But as Japan became more modern and Western, geisha realized that their profession was intimately tied with the traditional Japanese arts. So where most Japanese women felt uncomfortable in a kimono, the geisha leads her life in one.

Dalby likes this traditional element and devotes a large amount of her book to descriptions of the kimono and the shamisen--a geisha's musical instrument.

Dalby not only likes the traditional element, but she also likes the world of the geisha. Immersed as she was in it for over a year in 1975, one cannot help but wonder how truly objective she is. She obviously loved the world and found it an attractive way of life. Her personal intimacy with geisha, however, gives the book an appealing quality. Dalby understands the world of flowers and bamboo and does an admirable job of transmitting that understanding to her Western readers who may be more concerned with car imports than understanding the Japanese.