[Sangetsu]

Putting on a kimono and makeup does not make you a geisha. There are years of training and apprenticeship involved in becoming one, and not all that go through it end up becoming a geisha.

Geisha are taught to dance and sing, to play instruments, and to be good conversationalists. The know every nuance of manners, can recognize even the subtlest emotion, and can put their clients into almost any mood of their choosing.

You may not think it an art, but becoming a real geisha takes as much time and effort as getting a university degree. Movies like "Memoirs of a Geisha" are poor examples of exactly what it's like.

But then, becoming a geisha will not make you Japanese. I read that "Sayuki", the first foreign geisha, had her application for permanent residency in Japan denied. Despite the fact that she has lived in Japan since she was 15, and has a doctorate in anthropology from Oxford, and is the foremost foreign expert on many things Japanese (including the geisha lifestyle).

I was lucky enough last year to meet a group of young girls in Asakusa who were apprenticing to become geisha. My girlfriend had an interesting conversation with them, and we took pictures of each other posing with them, it was a lot of fun.