TheMondaypage - Geisha guise

THERE are so many misconceptions about geisha, says Jill Clay, artist, businesswoman, and lover of all things Japanese. "Many believe that they are prostitutes, but in fact they are well-respected figures in Japanese society.

"Highly-trained party hostesses, they are hired to entertain with their beauty, elegance and charm, as well as their skill in the arts of traditional Japanese music and dance."

For as long as she can remember, Jill has been captivated by the enigmatic appeal of the geisha, and for the past couple of years has been organising trips to Kyoto and bringing geisha to the UK to perform.

Last year, she organised the successful Festival of Japan in Durham, and has provided hostesses for corporate and charity events all over the UK.

Her business, which she runs from her home at Gilling West, near Richmond, North Yorkshire, has gone from strength to strength, and she organises workshops, Japanese themed hen weekends and weddings, and geisha makeovers.

SINCE dressing up as a geisha is something most Japanese women can only dream of, with outfits often costing tens of thousands of pounds, I can't resist the once-in-a-lifetime chance to try it for myself.

So in the unlikely setting of the beautiful, if thoroughly British, Yorkshire Dales, I begin my transformation.

While my make-up is being applied - white face with bright red lips and pink eye shadow - Jill explains how the misconceptions surrounding geisha arose. "When the Americans came to Japan after the Second World War, many girls would paint their faces white, call themselves geisha girls and prostitute themselves, " she says. "The soldiers would go home and say 'I slept with a geisha girl', and that is where the myth comes from.

"Originally, true geisha were concubines, but absolutely not any more. We want people to see what they do as artists and get away from this big misconception."

In fact, geisha are taken on by geisha boarding houses from the age of 15 and train in the traditional arts for one year, before specialising in either music or dance and becoming a maiko until they are 21.

The training in the arts of music, dance, the tea ceremony, language and being a first class hostess, takes about six years. Then they become fully-fledged geisha - also known as geiko - in Kyoto.

After my make-up has been applied, the arduous task of dressing me begins. Jill has studied the art of japanese love pillows dressing for years, and regularly travels to Kyoto to learn new skills.