Geisha District - Wednesday, January 18th

What is a Geisha?

A Geisha performing in a show

http://quest.eb.com/images/

Geisha (also referred to as geiko) are professional entertainers who receive people during meals, banquets, and other occasions.  The first geisha appeared and the 18th century and were actually men who entertained people with drums and music.  Today, geisha are women trained in dance, music, and communication, and their role is to make guests feel comfortable with conversation, drinking games, and performances.  The term geisha literally means “person of art,” as these skills that geisha practice are considered arts.  Distinctive features of a geisha are red lips, a white face, and an elaborate hairstyle.  The term geiko separates full geisha from prostitutes who dress like geisha and call themselves geisha.  The typical location for a geisha dinner is an ochaya (tea house).  Mos geisha only work at a licensed ochaya, which are exclusive, expensive, and membership-only.  Customers of an ochaya are customers billed monthly, and one can only become a member of an ochaya if recommended by a current member.  This protects both the exclusive image of the geisha and the geisha herself.  Since a geisha wears hundreds or thousands of dollars of kimono and accessories, it s important that the ochaya knows she is safe. Geisha are so exclusive that most people only ever glimpse one leaving a taxi or something of the like.  However, due to karaoke and recent economic downturn, there are few geishas left, and they are becoming less restricted to the public.

So you want to be a geisha?

A Geisha (center) usually wears more subdued makeup and clothing than the maiko (to the left and right)

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/

         The path to becoming a geisha is certainly not an easy one. If you are looking to be a geisha, you should apply to an okiya house at a young age (usually around 15). At this point, you will be introduced to an okasan (mentor). You need to be on your best behavior because the okasan decides whether or not to accept you to begin training. Only the best are accepted. If you are one of the lucky young girls accepted, you now get to leave your family and friends behind to go live with your okasan at an okiya house. As expected, you start your training at the bottom of the totem pole, assisting your okasan with anything they might need and going to classes to learn formal Japanese manners as well as traditional instruments, dance, and vocal arts. You can expect to have this low position as a shikomi-san, or “girl in training,” for about four years. At this point you get to debut in a misedashi ceremony as a maiko, or geisha apprentice. At this pivotal point in your training, you will get an onee-san, or “older sister.” You will follow your onee-san around, beginning your “watching and learning period.” As a maiko, you are still expected to go to classes to learn more traditions and manners, but your transformation to becoming a geisha begins. You will wear flamboyant and printed kimonos with white faced makeup with a bright red lower lip, characteristic of geisha. You will also participate in hanamichi-wide dances to gain reputation in the district. You can expect to be a maiko for about five more years. After almost a decade of hard work, you are finally ready to become a full-fledged geisha! This is an exciting time for you as you prepare for your erikae, or “turning of the collar” ceremony. At this ceremony, you gain all the privileges of geisha. You may now charge full price for your time and performances. You can also switch to shorter, more refined robes that show your status. This is also the point in time where you get to wear the prestigious geisha wigs. Good luck on your journey to becoming a geisha!

Alaina, Jasmine, Emily, and Grace Ann with Mameryo

Today, we got the incredible opportunity to visit the Gion geisha district and speak with a maiko named Mameryo and see her perform.  While she said that dancing and nerves from it were the hardest part of being a maiko her slow dance was graceful and mesmerizing.   While the elaborate kimono, makeup, and hairstyle may seem glamorous, the geisha profession is quite difficult, and sixty percent of maikos drop out before becoming a geiko.  Mameryo's day begins around seven when she wakes up and goes to classes until around twelve, at which point she eats lunch and then had free time for a couple hours.  Next, she must get dressed and apply her makeup. Here face makeup alone takes forty minutes to complete! Starting around three in the afternoon, she begins work, which continues until around one in the morning.  When she goes to sleep, a maiko must sleep on her cheek on a special elevated pillow to avoid mussing her elaborate hairstyle, which is done once a week and must remain untouched and perfect the rest of the time.   A maiko only has one day off a year and is not allowed to used computers, phones, or other modern technology.


There is great pressure throughout the process of becoming geiko, as performing well and finding an "older sister" who wants to take you on are necessary to succeed and become a geiko.  The "older sister" introduces a maiko to clients and venues, and her role is so important that maikos take on the prefix of their older sister's name for their own stage name.  Additionally, Mameryo confirmed maintaining the elite image of the geisha is crucial.  She said that on her day off, she went to McDonalds because this was the only day she could let her hair down and wear normal clothes.  Otherwise, she could not enter McDonalds or the image of not just her as a maiko but the image of all maiko would be besmirched.  Even the color of kimono worn by geiko is paid close attention to, as Mameryo said she loved a wiseria-colored kimono, but her house leader would not let her wear it as it did not match her face.  The pressure put on these young women to perform and succeed and maintain a certain image is enormous, but Mameryo obviously bore the burden with grace and a cheerful attitude, and it was a delight and an inspiration to meet with her today. 

- Alaina Baird, class of 2017

Education Nation - Tuesday, January 17th

Seibo School, Kyoto

Yesterday was a special day for the Harpeth Hall Japan group because we got to visit the Seibo all girls school in Kyoto. Students are the future of Japan, so education is an integral part of their culture. The first schools were founded in the late seventh century, under the jurisdiction of the emperor. These schools were similar to the education system in China, and students learned Chinese culture and Confucian doctrines. In 1868, however, the Meiji came to power and everything changed. The Meiji started a new nationwide school network that shifted the schools from Chinese to western based education. The system was at first based on the French educational complex, but transferred to an American based system after World War II. The Japanese took parts of our American school system and added in what they like to call "a Japanese heart" to make it their uniquely their own.

Today, Japanese students, like American students, have twelve years of school and then four years of university. The first nine years (six in elementary and three in junior high) are spent close to home in zoned schools. At the end of junior high, though, students take an entrance examination to determine their high school. High school placement is based on this test only, so it is incredibly important. After three years of high school, students again have to take a major entrance examination to get into university. This test, a harder version of the SAT or ACT, is the only thing determining whether or not they go to college (no application looking for "balance"), so students get their second of senior year off just to study. If a student passes the exam, it means automatic admittance, but if they fail, it means taking a sort of gap year to study to take the exam again. Some students are forced to spend four years studying for and taking this examination before finally passing it. Because of the cut throat atmosphere surrounding the examinations, the curriculum in Japan is incredibly strict so that all students are supposedly learning the same information at the same time. Additionally, students have very little free time because the pressure is on to study, study, study.  

Seibo School students learning geography

For a student in Japan, the day starts around 7 am (or 6 if they have a long bus ride to school). Like in the United States, school lasts from 8 to around 3, with classes such as Science, Math, Japanese, English, and History. In the Seibo school, we met with girls that were in a special international program that allowed them to take extra English classes. (their English was very good!) Unlike in the US however, Japanese students stay in the same classroom all day. The teachers rotate rooms and come to the students instead. Even lunch is brought from home and eaten in the classroom. Class structure in Japan is much more lecture based than in the US, with teachers talking and students listening. Very rarely will you find a class discussion in a Japanese classroom. For a student, the daily classes consist of quizzes and tests, memorization, note taking, and recitation. After all of this, most students have sports or other extracurricular activities to attend until around 5 or 6 in the afternoon. Then, when most American students would be coming home for dinner, 75% of Japanese students attend more classes called jukus, or “cram schools” to study even more. These courses are either for looming entrance exams or just to keep up with regular school. All Japanese students are considered equal, so all levels take the same classes with the same difficulty. It is up to the students not to fall behind. At the end of this exhausting process, it is not uncommon for a student in Japan to get home to start on their four hours of homework at 10 pm, then start all over again the next day. 

Seibo girl's school uniforms

Somehow, with all this work and pressure, Japanese students do not complain. One of the reasons is the extra teaching done in Japanese schools. In addition to the regular subjects, Japanese teachers have the responsibility to teach their students how to be true Japanese citizens. Teachers, rather than parents, are charged with the job of raising the next generation of proper Japanese. This gives teachers an honored and respected place in Japanese culture, but it also means lots of hard work. From the beginning, the teachers preach gaman, or perseverance, telling their students to endure their difficulties rather than complain. The schools also have strict rules that teach the students respect. Every student wears a uniform, and bowing occurs at least 10 times in a school day. Students walk in straight lines, treat their elders with respect, and do everything that is expected of them because if they don’t, they know punishment awaits them. Even after school hours students are not safe from a teacher's watchful eye. My buddy at Seibo school even mentioned getting in trouble because a teacher caught her texting on the subway on the way to school when she wasn't supposed to. This constant watchfulness and heavy workload keeps Japanese students in line and out of trouble. 

Young Japanese students working together to clean their classroom
http://www.npr.org/

Along with the formalities, another large part of Japanese culture taught in school is community. Each homeroom class is called a kumi, and this group truly becomes a team by the end of the year. They have to work together and share the responsibilities, including cleaning the classroom each day after class, passing out lunch, and leading other students in daily routines. Students learn to be humble and work for the betterment of the school rather than the individual. In later life, this translates to putting Japan in front of the individual and if needed sacrificing for the good of the nation. It could look as though students are babied because they are considered children until they graduate college and get their first job, but in reality, this constant sense of reliance forms the strong community that is quintessential to Japanese life. The polite citizens everywhere you go, the constant bowing, the fact that each individual sacrifices themselves for others – All of this begins in the school system. Although Japanese schools may seem strict and overbearing from an American perspective, it’s hard to argue with the facts: the students in Japan grow into wonderful Japanese men and women full of healthy habits and nationalistic pride.

Dressing up in yukatas!

I think I speak for everyone when I say we had a great time at the Seibo school. We started our day meeting buddies also in grades 11 and 12. We got to talk with them for awhile and learned about surprising differences right off the bat. I know everyone was glad to find out that American schools do not have classes on Saturday like in Japan, and we were flabbergasted that their uniforms and rules were even stricter than ours. At the Seibo school there is no jewelry or makeup allowed, and phones are taken up at the beginning of everyday. After meeting the enthusiastic and friendly students, we got to take a tour of the school. We quickly forgot about the fact that the hallways weren't heated as we encountered students that were so excited to see. The middle schoolers would wave and squeal kawaii, or cute as we walked past. We also visited the school's archives and found that Seibo school has ceremonies similar to Harpeth Hall's George Washington celebration as well as many other traditions. After a cafeteria lunch, we reached what I think is safe to say was one of our favorite parts. The Seibo school offered us the special treat to get dressed up in yukatas with obi sashes. Our buddies met up with us again and helped us to get all dressed up, then we learned the proper kimono etiquette as well as taking lots of cute pictures! After all of this, it was finally time to say goodbye to our new found friends. Per Japanese tradition, we exchanged gifts with our buddies and exchanged emails over Japanese tea and cookies. Saying good bye to the Seibo school was a sad affair, but I know the memories and friends we made there will last for a long time to come. During our time at the Seibo school, we learned a lot about the culture of Japanese schools and enjoyed making new friends and fun memories. 

We had a great time at Seibo school!

- Grace Ann Robertson, Class of 2017

Works Cited

        Feiler, Bruce S. Learning to Bow: an American Teacher in a Japanese School. New York, Ticknor & Fields, 1991.

Japanese Cuisine

A typical Japanese meal consists of four parts; a bowl of rice, a bowl of miso soup, pickled vegetables, and a fish or meat.
       While rice is the staple food in Japan, it can be replaced by a number of noodles such as udon, soba, somen, or ramen. All of these pastas have very similar flavors; they differ in their textures and colors. Udon is a thick noodle made from wheat flour. They typically have a more chewy texture than other noodles and are typically served in a hot broth, but occasionally served cold. Soba is thinner than udon but still a relatively thick noodle. It is made from buckwheat and has a dark, greyish color. Somen is made of wheat flour just like udon except it is stretched much thinner. Unlike most pasta served in America, soba and somen are most often served cold and with a dipping sauce. Lastly is ramen, which is a thin egg noodle, about the same diameter as soba, that is almost always served in a hot broth. Ramen is the most widely known variety of Japanese noodle due to instant ramen gaining so much popularity in the past few years. Instant ramen is typically just cooked noodles and a packet of spices, but the real deal is far more complex. A typical bowl of ramen is served in a bowl of hot broth flavored with shoyu (soy sauce) or miso (fermented soy beans) topped with a variety of mix-ins such as roast pork, bean sprouts, or eggs.

source

      Miso soup is a soup native to Japan that consists of a stock called dashi, miso paste, tofu, and whatever else the maker chooses to include. It is a Japanese custom to include solid ingredients that significantly contrast from each other; such as negi, an onion with a very strong taste, and tofu, a bean curd with very little flavor. The way that miso soup is prepared is rather complex. Typically, the majority of the solid ingredients are left to simmer in a pot of dashi while the miso is kept separate. If the miso is cooked, the flavor and biology  of the paste is altered. Once that solid ingredients have been simmered accordingly, the miso is combined with the rest of the soup and any remaining ingredients are added. An instant version of the soup is distributed heavily throughout Japan, but not so much internationally. It is made by dehydrating the ingredients which can be stored for long increments of time and then later re-hydrated with boiling water and combined with either a miso powder or paste.

source

     Japanese pickled vegetables, also called tsukemono, are vegetables left in a salt, brine, or bed of rice bran for an extended period of time. Tsukemono is hardly ever served alone as dish; it is almost always served as a side dish to another entree or as a garnish. In order to make tsukemono, one must have vegetables for pickling, a container, salt, and something to apply pressure onto the pickles. Every different pickling ingredient produces a different type of pickle with a different name. A pickle made with salt is shiozuke, vinegar is suzuke, sugar and vinegar is amasuzuke, miso is misozuke, soy sauce is shoyuzuke, and there are many, many more.

source

source

     Japanese people eat a lot more fish than Americans, which may be related to why Japan is home to the longest living people on the planet. They eat fish in almost every way possible; from raw to grilled to barbecued. But their huge intake of fish can cause some pretty big problems. Japan alone consumes about 75% of the world's tuna supplies and has nearly driven certain species of fish to extinction. Fish, a lots of it, was just about the only animal the Japanese ate until relatively recently. It wasn't until the 1870s that western countries began to have an influence on Japanese culture and introduced meats. Since then meats have become a core part of the Japanese diet with dishes such as yakitori, yakiniku, and gyudon, meaning grilled chicken, Korean barbecue, and beef bowl respectively. And of course with restaurant chains such as McDonald's and Taco Bell making their way into the country, meats have become much more common than they were 200 years ago.

source

source

     While on our trip to Japan, I've had the pleasure of eating Japanese food for every meal. I've had my fair share of noodles, miso soup, pickled vegetables, and many, many meats. With all the research I've done, I expected to know all the things we would eat, but I was very wrong. There were plenty of things that I had never tried before, or even heard about. While Japanese desserts are mostly similar to those in western countries, there are a few unique to the country. One particularly interesting Japanese is dango (dan pronounced like han as in Han Solo and go is pronounced how you would expect it to). Dango is a type of colorful rice dumpling, similar to mochi. The particular type of dango I'm referencing and have pictured below is called Hanami dango, which is most often made during cherry blossom season but available all year round. Dango is less about flavor and more about texture. The dumplings have almost no flavor but have a texture like nothing else I've ever experienced. If you ever get the chance, they're certainly worth a try, especially if you can get them in Japan!

     My personal favorite dish in Japan was ramen. I've had my share of ramen all over the U.S., but never in another country, let alone its origin country. To say I was excited to try some authentic ramen was an understatement. On our trip, we had plenty of udon our first few days, but no ramen. It wasn't until our one-night stay in Hiroshima that we finally made our way to a ramen shop for dinner. We ordered and our food was ready almost instantly. It was served to us steaming hot and absolutely delicious. I had a soy sauce based ramen while my friend Sunni vegetable based one. I was unable to take a picture of mine due to low storage on my phone, but Sunni took a lovely picture of her ramen, which is pictured below. Compared to all the ramen I've had in the past, this was far better. I can't precisely pinpoint what made it so much better, because I'm no ramen expert. It may have been that the ingredients were fresher or that it was made by a professional, but really, I have no clue. If I had to make a guess as to why it was so much better than American ramen, I'd have to say that it was because it was authentic rather than an imitation. When it comes to foods that originate in only one country, you must understand that if you get it from anywhere other than its origin, it won't be as good. Crepes from France, fish & chips from England, dumplings from China, and ramen from Japan will always be better than American imitations.

Works Cited:

https://www.japan-zone.com/culture/food.shtml#seafood_meat
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miso_soup
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsukemono
https://gurunavi.com/en/japanfoodie/2015/08/tsukemono.html?__ngt__=TT0cafe67ce001ac1e4ac717JpILht-HOKKR2x0nkYbd7Q
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_cuisine