Just less than 8 hours back, I came across a blog by a fellow Singaporean whose blog article seemingly presumed that geishas (professional skilled entertainers/artisans that are employed for "entertainment purposes" and are generally asked to host parties that double as business meetings, organised by wealthy and prominent Japanese men) and oirans (prostitutes of old Japan) are supposed to be "lumped" together under the same category/tag - Geisha. So, here is my take on the difference between a Geisha and a Oiran. Correctly.

Geisha(s) are female Japanese entertainers in which their skills includes traditional arts like performing classical music and dance. But in Kyoto generally, full-fledged geishas are commonly referred to as geiko. This term is commonly used and referred to due to the simple reason that within the Kyoto region, it is easier to distinguish geisha who genuinely practiced in traditional arts from prostitutes who have co-opted the same name and attire of geisha.

Prostitutes, or Oirans, traditionally wore their obi sash in front of their kimonos, due to the fact that when it's time for hanky-panky, it's easier to remove their clothes and get into the action. And partly because Oirans need to remove their kimonos several times a day, so the kimono they wore are generally less complex and the obi sash tied at the front of the kimono, simply for easy removal of their clothing. Whereas a genuine geisha or geiko wore their obi sash at the back of their kimono and the fact that they are professional entertainers emphasize the fact that removing their kimonos are the least important thing that should be on their mind.

Geisha are often wrongly portrayed as prostitutes in Western popular culture. However, geishas do not, in under any circumstances, engage in paid sex with clients. Their purposes are to entertain their customer, whether by reciting poetic verses, playing traditional musical instruments, or engaging in light conversation. Geisha engagements may include somne sort of flirting with men and playful innuendos; however, clients know that nothing more can be expected. In a social style that is uniquely Japanese, men are amused by the illusion that only exists in the form of a Geisha.

Geishas have always been confused with the high-class courtesans of the Edo and Yoshiwara period known as oiran(s), from whom they evolved. Like the geishas, oirans wore elaborate hairstyles and white makeup almost exactly like what they geishas would wear, but oirans tied their obi sash in the front of their kimonos. And without much further debation, here's a video to give you, my humble readers, a rough idea what's the difference between a Geisha and a Taiyuu/Oiran.