![Geisha (pronounced /ˈɡeɪʃə/, Japanese: [ɡeːʃa]), like all Japanese nouns, has no distinct singular or plural variants. The word consists of two kanji, 芸 (gei) meaning “art” and 者 (sha) meaning “person” or “doer”. The most literal translation of geisha into English would be “artist” or “performing artist”. Another name for geisha used in Japan is geiko (芸子, which is usually used to refer to geisha from Western Japan, including Kyoto.
Apprentice geisha are called maiko (舞子 or 舞妓), literally “dance child”) or hangyoku (半玉), “half-jewel” (meaning that they are paid half the wage of a full geisha), or by the more generic term o-shaku (御酌), literally “one who pours (alcohol)”. The white make-up and elaborate kimono and hair of a maiko is the popular image held of geisha. A woman entering the geisha community does not have to start out as a maiko, having the opportunity to begin her career as a full geisha. Either way, however, usually a year’s training is involved before debuting either as a maiko or as a geisha. A woman above 21 is considered too old to be a maiko and becomes a full geisha upon her initiation into the geisha community. However, those who do go through the maiko stage can enjoy more prestige later in their professional lives.
The only modern hangyoku that can apprentice before the age of eighteen are in Kyoto. So on average, Tokyo hangyoku (who typically begin at 18) are slightly older than their Kyoto counterparts (who usually start at 15). Historically, geisha often began the earliest stages of their training at a very young age, sometimes as early as at 3 or 5 years. The early shikomi (servant) and minarai (watching apprentice) stages of geisha training lasted years, which is significantly longer than in contemporary times.
It is still said that geisha inhabit a separate reality which they call the karyūkai or “the flower and willow world.” Before they disappeared the courtesans were the colorful “flowers” and the geisha the “willows” because of their subtlety, strength, and grace.
(via Sakuran. II by `zemotion on deviantART)](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lnv9alXA7e1qzdlr7o1_500.jpg)
![Hirosaki Castle. Wow! (Explored) This image 8,000 visits. Thank you. by Glenn Waters ぐれんin Japan. on Flickr.Hirosaki (弘前市 Hirosaki-shi) is a city located in southwest Aomori Prefecture, Japan. It is a castle town and was the Tsugaru clan ruled the 100,000 koku tozama han Hirosaki Domain from Hirosaki Castle during the Edo period. The city is currently a regional commercial center and the largest producer of apples in Japan[citation needed]. The city government has been promoting the catchphrase “Apple Colored Town Hirosaki”, and “Castle and Cherry Blossom and Apple Town” to promote the city image.](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lkgrp0woWc1qzdlr7o1_500.jpg)
Will we stop mass extinction?
I’ve just signed an urgent global petition supporting a new treaty to prevent mass extinction.
The petition will be delivered Friday at UN talks in Japan — check out the email below and sign on here: http://www.avaaz.org/en/the_end_of_whales/98.php?
Dear friends, There are only 300 northern right whales left, and 99% of blue whales have been wiped out.
These majestic giants are endangered species, and their case is being played out across the world, time and again.
In fact, one third of all life forms on the planet are on the brink of extinction.
The natural world is being crushed by human activity, waste and exploitation.
But there is a plan to save it — a global agreement to create, fund and enforce protected areas covering 20% of our lands and seas by 2020.
And right now, 193 governments are meeting in Japan to address this crisis. We have just 4 days left in this crucial meeting.
Experts say that politicians are hesitant to adopt such an ambitious goal, but that a global public outcry could tip the balance, making leaders feel the eyes of the world upon them.
Click to sign the urgent 20/20 petition, and forward this email widely — the message will be delivered directly to the meeting in Japan: http://www.avaaz.org/en/the_end_of_whales98.php?
Ironically, 2010 is the International Year of Biodiversity.
By now, our governments were supposed to have “achieved a significant reduction of the current rate of biodiversity loss.
” They have failed, consistently caving to industry when given a choice between narrow profit and protecting species.
Our animals, plants, oceans, forests, soils, and rivers are choking under immense burdens from over-exploitation and other pressures.
Humans are the primary cause of this destruction. But we can turn it around — we’ve saved species from extinction before.
The causes of biodiversity decline are vast, and stopping them is going to require a move away from empty piecemeal promises with no clarity on who will pay, to a bold plan with strict enforcement and serious funding.
The 20/20 plan is precisely that: governments will be forced to execute strict programmes to ensure that 20% of our earth is protected by the 2020 deadline, and massively scale up funding. It has to be now.
All over the world the picture is beginning to look bleaker — there are only 3,200 tigers left in the wild, our oceans are running out of fish, and we’re losing unique food sources to large mono-plantations.
Nature is resilient, but we have to give it a safe place to bounce back. That’s why this meeting is key — it’s a watershed moment to accelerate action based on clear commitments that protect nature’s capital.
If our governments feel overwhelming public pressure right now to be courageous, we can jolt them to commit to the 20/20 plan at this meeting. But it’s going to take every one of us to get that message to echo around the convention in Japan.
Sign this urgent petition below, then forward it widely: http://www.avaaz.org/en/the_end_of_whales98.php?
