Getting a rare glimpse of the geishas

WORLD CULTURES:AMONG THE star attractions at this year's Festival of World Cultures in Dún Laoghaire will be two silk-clad ambassadors from Japan's "flower and willow" world, better known as geisha.

Miehina (20) and her "big sister" Fukuwaka will demonstrate the traditional geisha arts at the Royal Marine Hotel on Saturday evening. Once one of the few career paths for talented but poor women in Japan, the geisha world has shrunk sharply since its pre-World War II heyday. The number of working geisha in Kyoto, home for Miehina and Fukuwaka, has plummeted from over 2,000 to about 300 today.

But the 400-year-old trade is undergoing a revival, according to interpreter and long-time Kyoto resident Peter MacIntosh, who is accompanying the women to Dublin. Recently, about 100 apprentice geisha, or maiko, have donned the traditional powdered wigs and kimonos in Gion, Kyoto's geisha district. This is double the number of a decade ago, he says. Apprentices start training at 15.

"Japanese people are starting to think more about their own culture," says MacIntosh, a Canadian who is married to an ex-geisha. Sayuri, the 2005 movie adaptation of Memoirs of a Geisha, Arthur Golden's blockbuster fictionalised account of a geisha's life, has also revived interest, despite enduring criticism in Japan.

Experts say that gaudy Hollywood confection bore little relation to the subtle, mysterious ways of Gion. The Mills and Boon relationship between heroine Sayuri and her kind danna, or master, got heavy flak because it resurrected an old trope: geishas are subservient women who offer sex.

Often confused with prostitutes, geisha are in fact skilled performers, albeit usually catering to an audience made up mainly of wealthy men. MacIntosh calls them "entertainment facilitators". "The women study traditional arts. They play instruments, talk, tell stories and make parties go smoother," he says.

Today, women such as Miehina may choose to become maiko once they have their parent's permission. Miehina has been training in a tea house for five years and boasts many geisha skills. She dances, strums the three-stringed shamisen and is studying how to perform the tea ceremony and play narimono, or traditional Japanese drums.

While training, they have to accept up to six years without salary. Qualified geishas often work 25 days a month and must fork out for their wigs, make-up and a wardrobe of kimonos that can cost the price of a family car.

The rewards, though, can be substantial: top performers earn $100,000 (€68,000) or more a year and growing respect as the purveyors of an ancient art form.

The Irish audience can expect "performances of song, fan dance and music, followed by a presentation on the culture, apprenticeship, adornment and ceremonies".

Says MacIntosh: "You're getting a rare opportunity when you meet these women. Whether you like it or not, it is something that most people don't see, even in Japan."

21st Century Geisha starts at 8pm on Saturday, August 23rd

Festival's highlights

The 2008 Festival of World Cultures starts tomorrow in Dun Laoghaire and will host 800 musicians over three days.

Friday: Éthiopiques, a line-up of Ethiopian soul, funk and free-form jazz at 8pm, is sold out. Yungchen Lhamo, who sings in an ancient Tibetan style, will perform in Monkstown Church at 8.30pm. Tickets: €26-€29.

Saturday: Banaya are a West-African group who sing in the Griot tradition. Tickets €27-€29. Seu Jorge brings his Brazilian funk to Irish ears for the first time:10pm, sold out.

Sunday: Sa Dingding, who sings in Mongolian, Sanskrit and Tibetan, is in the Pavilion.

The festival is a family friendly affair that also offers a kiddie disco, a global food and craft fair and workshops in basket-making, soap-making, hip-hop, dhol drumming, beatbox and more. Tickets and other details from: www.festivalofworldcultures.com.  Rory Crean