i have no claim towards the video.

The history of "geisha" culture first appeared in Tang dynasty china in 6th century or perhaps earlier. it was recorded in the book of tang that "these courtesan' s main job are supervising banquets, they were train in the art of conversation, poem, music, dancing, singing. the courtesan was handpicked and bought by the mother, after she was picked she would be adopted and use the same last name as the mother, then she would be trained, in the age of 15 when she is deemed fit to welcome costumer, they were gifted with beautiful clothing. these courtesan are tied to the mother by their debt, so they have to repay their debts by working."

the "geisha" culture later transfer to Japan during the Tang dynasty including many music instruments, music, clothing, hairstyle, makeup, and dance.

thus begin the geisha culture. its fascinating that 1300 years ago, the live of a japanese geisha and Tang dynasty courtesans wasn't that different, they still have to work hard to pay their debt and hope someday a rich man might take them as concubine/mistress or even better marry them and settle their debts.

also important note, the movie took liberties with the hairstyle and makeup due to character development, it is also interesting that geisha hairstyle in 1930s and 2020s are also quite different.

source from book of tang

all rights directed to memoirs of a geisha 2005.