this is the another homework that i did couple months ago.
a perfect one and i'm happy with the result.
a perfect model which i can snap a perfect picture which can bring out this character!
miko san, who's mix chinese+japanese.
this is the reason why find her as my model
as fullfill her wishes that she never wear kimono on
this is her first try as well
History of Geisha
With paper-white skin, demur red-painted lips, glorious silk kimonos and elaborate jet-black hair( but not on Miko's)The first geisha-like performers in recorded Japanese history are the saburuko, "those who serve," who waited tables, made conversation, and sometimes sold sexual favors. The higher-class saburuko danced and entertained at elite social events. Ordinary saburuko were mostly the daughters of families left destitute in the social and political upheavals of the seventh century, the period of the Taika Reform.
In 794 CE, the Emperor Kammu moved his capital from Nara to Heian (near present-day Kyoto).Yamato Japanese culture flourished during the Heian period, which witnessed the establishment of a particular standard of beauty, as well as the origins of the samurai warrior class. Shirabyoshi dancers and other talented female artists were in high demand throughout the Heian era, which lasted until 1185.
With a higher class of customers, a higher style of female entertainer also developed in the pleasure quarters of Kyoto and other cities. Highly skilled in dancing, singing and playing musical instruments such as the flute and shamisen, the geisha did not rely on selling sexual favors for their income. All were trained in the art of conversation and flirting. Among the most prized were geisha with a talent for calligraphy, or those who could improvise beautiful poetry with hidden layers of meaning on the spot.
History records that the first self-styled geisha was Kikuya, a talented shamisen player and prostitute who lived in Fukagawa around 1750. Throughout the late 18th and early 19th centuries, a number of other pleasure quarter residents began to make a name for themselves as talented musicians, dancers or poets, rather than simply as sex workers.
The first official geisha were licensed in Kyoto in 1813, just fifty-five years before the Meiji Restoration, which ended the Tokugawa Shogunate and signaled the rapid modernization of Japan. Geisha did not disappear when the shogunate fell, despite the dissolution of the samurai class. It was World War II that really dealt a blow to the profession; almost all young women were expected to work in factories to support the war effort, and there were far fewer men left in Japan to patronize teahouses and bars.
Although the hey-day of the geisha was short, the occupation still lives on today. Whereas traditional maiko, or apprentice geisha, began training at about age 6, today all Japanese students must stay in school through age 15. Thus, girls in Kyoto can begin their training at 16, while those in Tokyo usually wait until they are 18.
Popular with tourists and business-people alike, modern-day geisha also support an entire industry. They provide work for artists in all of the tradition skills of music, dance, calligraphy, etc., who train the geisha. Geisha also buy top-of-the-line traditional products such as kimono, umbrellas, fans, shoes, etc., keeping craftsmen in work and preserving their knowledge.
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