Gei of Geisha: Music, Identity and Meaning
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A01=Kelly M. Foreman
A01=KellyM. Foreman
Author_Kelly M. Foreman
Author_KellyM. Foreman
Bungo Bushi
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Category=GTM
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cultural identity theory
Echigo Jishi
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ethnomusicology
Geisha Community
Geisha Girl
Geisha Identity
geisha musical practice analysis
Geisha Perform
Geisha Study
Japanese performing arts
Japanese Traditional Music
Kabuki Actors
Kitagawa Morisada
Kyoto Gion
Large Stage Performances
Living National Treasures
Miyako Odori
Nagauta Shamisen
Naniwa Bushi
Onna Kabuki
Paid For Performances
patronage in arts
Pleasure Quarters
Shamisen Genres
Shamisen Music
shamisen performance
Spring Performances
Theater Teahouses
Tokyo Geisha
traditional music studies
Young Men
Product details
- ISBN 9780754658573
- Weight: 362g
- Dimensions: 156 x 234mm
- Publication Date: 28 Jan 2008
- Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd
- Publication City/Country: GB
- Product Form: Hardback
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The Japanese geisha is an international icon, known almost universally as a symbol of traditional Japan. Numerous books exist on the topic, yet this is the first to focus on the 'gei' of geisha - the art that constitutes their title (gei translates as fine art, sha refers to person). Kelly M. Foreman brings together ethnomusicological field research, including studying and performing the shamisen among geisha in Tokyo, with historical research. The book elaborates how musical art is an essential part of the identity of the Japanese geisha rather than a secondary feature, and locates current practice within a tradition of two and half centuries. The book opens by deconstructing the idea of 'geisha' as it functions in Western societies in order to understand why gei has been, and continues to be, neglected in geisha studies. Subsequent chapters detail the myriad musical genres and traditions with which geisha have been involved during their artistic history, as well as their position within the traditional arts society. Considering the current situation more closely, the final chapters explore actual dedication to art today by geisha, and analyse how they create impromptu performances at evening banquets. An important issue here is geisha-patron artistic collaboration, which leads to consideration of what Foreman argues to be the unique and essential nexus of identity, eroticism and aesthetics within the geisha world.
Kelly M. Foreman teaches in the Department of Music at Wayne State University, USA.
