Anonymous asked:
Are geishas in 2016 called upon to have relations with business men who request their presence st dinners or events
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geimei answered:
Hello!
You’re probably referring to romantic and/or relationships.
What you’re asking about are probably danna, men or women (but more commonly men) who financially support one Geiko and in exchange get to spend more time alone with her than her regular costumers would.
What is important to know is that Geisha/Geiko were never forced to have a danna; it was always their own choice and they were always allowed to end the relationship or enter a new one.
There is a misconception that, before WWII, most Geisha had a danna, but this was not the case. Usually, only the most successful Geisha attracted men wealthy enough and willing to financially support them, and also, not all Geisha wanted a danna.
While it was certainly attractive to have a danna, as they cover a lot of a Geisha’s living expenses, and some of them strove to get one, some of them wanted to keep their complete independence. It was also never impossible to survivie as an independent Geisha, as especially the movie “Memoirs of a Geisha” suggests, but I could imagine it being hardder back then.
Quite a number of Geisha had romantic relationships with their dannas, but these were based on mutual feelings for each other.
A “danna-contract” (contracts usually do not exist in the karyukai and it is usually based on a verbal promise) did not intail a romantic or sexual relationship. Most men supported Geisha as a sign of their wealth and prestige, sort of like patronizing the opera in the west.
Back in the day, a lot of male artists like Kabuki and Noh actor also sponsered Geisha, because both are artists, so they had a certain kinship and often developed friendships over artistic aspects.
Of course, some men and Geisha fell in love with each other at the parlor, but that’s just what naturally to most people.
If there was a mutual romantic interest and the man could afford it, he would of course try to become her danna, because not only meant this being able to spend more time with her (a danna’s request for a meeting is always more important than that of any other customer and a danna can also pay a Geisha’s hourly fee to buy her some time-off -which she might spend with him, casually), but also got to support the woman he loved in her career.
A Geisha’s private romantic and sexual life was always her own buisness - they were and are allowed to date who they want and are never kept from, and sometimes even encouraged, marrying.
Today, danna are increasingly rare, as Geisha numbers are much lower (about 1,100 in total) and just not as popular as they were in the 1920s, for example, so there are less people willing to support Geisha.
A lot of Geisha today also value complete independence and want no one to patronize them. Most independent Geisha can also live comfortably off their hob and don’t feel like they need any additiona support.
Some Geisha do still dave danna, but these relationships are kept private as they are really no one elses’s buisness.
So no, Geisha are not and never were called upon to have relationships with buisnessmen, although some did and very few still do, but because both parties want to.
No matter what happens today…we all win with a new episode of South Park tomorrow.
As an atheist, putting my hand on the Bible and saying an oath before testifying to a court is less likely to get me to tell the truth than a pinkey promise
Things that crack me up about Legolas:
- Okay, so maybe the film guide says he was born in TA 87, but looking at clues from HOME and the Silmariilion, he’s at the very most a bit over 2000 years old at time of The Fellowship of the Ring. He’s the youngest elf that we know about in that time period. ARWEN is older than him. He’s creeped out by Fangorn being so old but he calls all mortals children because he’s a little shit.
- Tolkien would get super pissed off when Legolas was shown in illustrations as “pretty or lady-like” and insisted that he was the biggest, roughest, toughest of the elves and the most hardcore of the Fellowship. Legolas is like the freaking Schwarzenegger of the elves, nbd.
- Best friend is a dwarf whose father was literally imprisoned by Legolas’ father and yet he still brought him to the Undying Lands for the most awkward family reunion because screw you Thranduil. And let me remind you that a) Gimli is the only, only dwarf who got to make the trip and Legolas invited him. Other people had to get permission from like the literal Valar and Legolas was like I want to bring my mortal bff yeah he wasn’t a ringbearer but whatevs. Also b) most of the people who left in TA 3201 went on like these fleets of beautiful vessels with a master shipbuilder but Legolas was like nope, going to build one myself, never built one before but it can’t be that hard, right?
- While Sindarin is the most common Elvish language by the time Legolas is alive, it’s considered really ugly and and unrefined, but here Legolas is running around probably not even able to speak the language of his ancestors, and I imagine him super proud of what must sound like an awful accent to his people.
- Also super explains how useless he was at Moira trying to decipher the door because he doesn’t have time to deal with those snobs.
- All the Fellowship got useful gifts or ones with spiritual meaning but instead Galadriel was like no, Legolas, I’m going to give you this big ass bow that’s bigger than the Mirkwood ones and it’s going to be so sick yeah it’s like taller than you are BUT ITS GOING TO LOOK SO SWEET.
We cannot grasp how our perspective on reality is different from other people’s. The child sees the world as magical, the scientist as material, the religious as being all about god, and so on. Even though we all live physically in the same world, our realities are incredibly different.
grizzlyballs
