Geisha

Mystery and misconception surround the geisha. At first glance, she may appear to be rather average looking, heavily clad in a weighty costume and an excess of make-up. But behind this mask lies a range of artistic skills and social etiquettes of immense importance to Japanese culture past and present. The most common place to find a geisha today is in Kyoto, the former capital of Japan before Tokyo, or Edo, took over. Even so, it is rare to see a real geisha walking the streets there. There are Japanese girls who look like geisha wearing colorful kimonos with thick obis wrapped tightly around their waist, tottering along on pairs of wooden okobo.