Glossary of Terms
Asobi: play, both for children and adults
Bon: a Midsummer Buddhist festival of souls
Bonchi: a basin or valley ringed by mountains
Buiki: not iki; boorish
Bunraku: traditional Japanese puppet theater
Butsudan: the household Buddhist shrine
Danna: a geisha's patron
Dansu Geisha: In the 1920's, geisha who danced in Western ballroom styles
Darari: a style of tying the obi sash that is used only by apprentice geisha
Desho: a geisha's most formal kimono
Edo: Tokyo (historical)
Eri: the inside collar of a kimono, at the back of the neck
Erikae o suru: "to turn one's collar" this expression marks the transition from maiko to geisha
Flower-and-Willow-World: Geisha society as a whole
Fudangi: kimono - every day wear vs Haregi, formal wear
Furisode: "swinging-sleeve" kimono worn by unmarried girls
Geigi: alternate term for geisha
Geiko: a fully qualified geisha (especially in Kyoto)
Geta: informal wooden sandals
Giri: Duty, honor, obligation
Hanamachi: a geisha district containing okiya (geisha houses) and ochaya (tea houses)
Haori: jacket worn over kimono
Hauta: a short song played on the shamisen
Hiki Iwai: Celebration of a woman's departure from the geisha life
Iki: an aesthetic of sophisticated partying associated with with the flower-and-willow world
Jikata: a geisha specializing in playing music and singing
Jimae geiko: an independent geisha who has finished her apprenticeship at an okiya
Kaburenjo: a geisha dance theater and rehearsal space
Kagami mochi: round, hard cakes of pounded glutinous rice
Kenban: the auditing and registration office of a geisha district
Kota: thirteen stringed rectangular harp
Machiai: Geisha entertainment rooms formerly popular in Tokyo
Maiko: an apprentice Kyoto geisha usually aged between about fifteen and twenty-one
Marumage: traditional hairstyle for adult women
Meiji: historical period (1868-1912) and reigning emperor
Minarai: an apprentice maiko, learning by observation
Misedashi: a maiko's formal debut
Mizuage: the arranged deflowering of a maiko (historical)
Momoware: traditional hairstyle worn by young girls, now seen only on the maiko of Kyoto
Mon: crest or insignia
Musume-bun: the "role of daughter" in the fictive kinship system of geisha communities
Nihon Buyo: traditional Japanese dance
Obi: a kimono sash
Ochaya: (tea house) an exclusive function room catering to regular customers only
Oiran: Edo courtesan (historical)
Okobo: platform clogs worn by maiko
Okamisan: proprietress of a shop or tea house
Okasan: "Mother", the term used by geisha for tea house managers or okiya owners
Okiya: a house in which Kyoto geiko and maiko live
Okobo: special high clogs worn by maiko
Oneesan: older sister
Oniisan: older brother
Onsen: hot springs, spa
Oshiroi: the powder used for skin whitening
Otoko Geisha: Male geisha
Otokosu: a professional geisha dresser
Ozashiki: a small, private party where guests book geisha to perform in an ochaya
Ryotei: a high-class Japanese restaurant
Sakura: cherry blossoms
Sansan-kudo: "Thrice three, nine times," the ritual exchange of cups of sake in a wedding ceremony or the sisterhood ceremony of geisha
Shakuhachi: a thick bamboo clarinet
Shamisen: (also samisen): a three-stringed, banjo-like instrument
Shikomi: a maid/apprentice
Tabi: split-toed socks worn with Japanses sandals
Tachikata: a geisha specializing in dance
Taiko: a drum. Also the name of a common way of tying an obi
Taikomochi: ("drum-carrier") a male geisha
Tatami: traditional Japanese flooring, made of thickly woven straw
Tayu: Kyoto courtesan (historical)
Tokonoma: alcove in a traditional room where flowers and a hanging scroll can be displayed
Tsu: a masculine form of iki
Wabi: an aesthetic of restraint and simplicity associated with tea ceremony
Wareshinobu: a maiko hairstyle
Yukata: a cotton kimono, worn for very informal occasions; bathrobe
Zashiki: a banquet room. Also the term used by geisha for their engagements
Zori: Japanese sandals