Memoirs of Meeting a Geisha

It’s been said that a true geisha can stop a man in his tracks with a single look.*

One flight, three trains, two hours of getting lost in Yanaka, two taxis, a stopover at a police station and 33 emails later, I’m convinced that Sanoka, a 21-year-old apprentice geisha of Tokyo, can do so much more than that. It was a Saturday evening when my Australian friend, Steph, and I finally found the teahouse where the young woman with the white face and red eyebrows was waiting for us.

WHAT IS A GEISHA?

A geisha is a traditional Japanese female hostess, educated to entertain men with the art of conversation, dance and song. In the 1920s, there were more than 80 000 geisha in Japan, but today there are only about 2 000.
Before debuting as a full geisha, she must undergo rigorous training and observe the onee-san, her "older sister", in order to perfect her craft. In Tokyo, she is then called a half fee, a hangyoku – because they used to get half of the fees of the adult geisha. Sanoka has been a hangyoku for about two years now.

WHAT DOES A SMALL-TOWN SOUTH AFRICAN GIRL, AN AUSTRALIAN UNIVERSITY  STUDENT AND AN APPRENTICE GEISHA HAVE IN COMMON?

 I’ve been asking myself this question too many times now. Our meeting was as strange as the stories her brightly painted red lips shared with us. 
During the day, Sanoka is just a normal Japanese girl who listens to Oasis and studies animation at an art school in Tokyo. At night, however, she puts on her kimono and white toe socks and turns into a walking artwork, admired by the few who get the opportunity to witness her in full bloom. After that, she walks home and scrubs her white makeup off with baby oil.

AND THEN, JUST LIKE THREE ORDINARY GIRLS, WE FORGOT ABOUT THE RANDOMNESS OF IT ALL. 

We spoke about make-up, boyfriends and traveling. A geisha is not allowed to get married, but will Sanoka marry her prince charming? What does her modern family and friends say about her life as an apprentice geisha? She showed us photos, taught us some dance moves and a few Japanese phrases.  We discussed the benefits of baby oil and giggled like the 20-something-year-olds that we are. The teahouse was bright; the walls were silent as I listened to all the secrets that are not mine to share…

 Meeting Sanoka was like a song I’d heard once in fragments but had been singing in my mind ever since.*



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* Adapted quotations from Memoirs of a Geisha, written by Arthur Golden