Geisha paparazzi: Kyoto's biggest headache
Tensions over tourists taking photographs of iconic Japanese women have reached 'boiling point'
With a history dating back to the 1700s, geishas are one of Japan's most enduring cultural images.
But this has increasingly made them a tourist attraction, and the "throngs" of visitors who are try to snap photos of them in "picturesque streets" have been compared to the paparazzi for their aggressive tactics, said CNN.
'The pretty painted face of Japanese patriarchy'
The Japanese word "geisha" literally means "art person". They are traditional Japanese female entertainers who are skilled in arts such as classical music and dance, and playing the samisen (an instrument like a lute). They entertain customers while they dine and drink.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Geishas wear a kimono and the way their obi (sash) is tied signals their status. With their distinctive white face, red lips and elaborately decorated hairstyle, the geisha has become a recognisable image around the world. Apprentice geishas are known as maikos.
Geishas are not immune from controversy. Writing in The Observer in 2001, Barbara Ellen argued that the geisha "is, and has always been, the pretty painted face of Japanese patriarchy". And "no amount of waffle" about "things that make ignorant, sensation-greedy Westerners go weak at the knees" has been able to disguise the "ethical fungus at the heart of geisha culture".
There was controversy in 2015 when Katy Perry dressed up as a geisha for her performance at the American Music Awards. It was dismissed as a "yellowface" performance, said The Guardian.
There has also been controversy over a growing trend of tourists following them around to take photographs. In 2015, Kyoto published pamphlets and other handouts that used pictograms to illustrate travel "nuisance activities", including taking photos of geishas and maikos.
But four years later, said CNN, tensions had reached "boiling point" amid reports of tourists tugging at women's kimonos, chasing them around with cameras and smartphones, pulling out their hair ornaments and even hitting them with cigarette butts.
Although Gion, the area of Kyoto where most geishas live and work, has begun posting signs and notices prohibiting photography, and warning that violators would face a fine, Isokazu Ota, from the Gion's South Side District Council, said the tourism "paparazzi" have "gotten more brazen" since the return of mass tourism to Japan after the pandemic.
'People know the rules but are ignoring them'
The problem of tourists surrounding geishas and their maiko apprentices "arose before the pandemic" and will be "trickier to solve", said The Times. Amid growing concern, the local council in Gion hopes to make narrow alleys completely closed off to tourists by April 2024. But photography on the main thoroughfare of Gion, Hanamikoji, cannot be banned since it is a public street.
It's hoped that visitors can still meet and interact with maikos and geishas. The Gion Theatre, which is located off Hanamikoji, hosts performances by maikos, after which audience members can have their pictures taken with the women in an organised and respectful context.
"The people taking pictures of the streets of Gion on the main street and the tourists taking pictures of maiko from afar are probably unaware of the rule against photography," said Ota.
However, he added, "the foreign tourists waiting for maiko to come out in the alleys of Gion’s photography-prohibited areas know the rules but are ignoring them", so "even if we warn tourists, it is difficult to get through to them at this point".
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Chas Newkey-Burden has been part of The Week Digital team for more than a decade and a journalist for 25 years, starting out on the irreverent football weekly 90 Minutes, before moving to lifestyle magazines Loaded and Attitude. He was a columnist for The Big Issue and landed a world exclusive with David Beckham that became the weekly magazine’s bestselling issue. He now writes regularly for The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Independent, Metro, FourFourTwo and the i new site. He is also the author of a number of non-fiction books.
-
Saint Paul de Vence: a paradise for art lovers
The Week Recommends The hilltop gem in the French Riviera where 20th century modernism flourished
By Alexandra Zagalsky Published
-
'People in general want workers to earn a decent living'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
What might a Trump victory mean for the global economy?
Today's Big Question A second term in office for the 'America First' administration would send shockwaves far beyond the United States' shores
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Stay sharp with the country's best knife shops
The Week Recommends A dull knife is a kitchen's worst nightmare
By Scott Hocker, The Week US Published
-
Art and protest in Iran
Under the Radar Regime cracks down on creatives who helped turn nationwide Woman, Life, Freedom protests 'into a cultural uprising'
By Elliott Goat, The Week UK Published
-
The Japanese villages where time stood still
The Week Recommends Up to 200 villagers cooperate to thatch a roof in a single day, preserving this beautiful tradition
By The Week UK Published
-
Kris Kristofferson, singer-songwriter, is dead at 88
Speed Read The musician wrote hit songs for Janis Joplin and Johnny Cash before starring in Hollywood movies
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
From 'Teenage Dream' to millennial nightmare – where did it go wrong for Katy Perry?
Talking Points Brutal reviews for new album represent a serious setback in the pop star's attempted return
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
10 concert tours to see this fall
The Week Recommends Rake in the changing of the leaves with a series of autumn shows
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Why is the Taj Mahal crumbling?
Under The Radar This famous site is falling into disrepair – is mismanagement to blame, or are there political motivations at play?
By The Week UK Published
-
8 bars to hunker down in during the fall season
The Week Recommends Where to drink now in Phoenix, New York City and many a point in between
By Scott Hocker, The Week US Published