Япония: цивилизация, культура, язык 2022

«ISSUES OF JAPANOLOGY, vol. 9» St-Petersburg State Univ 2022 527 expected to be performed in set contexts (shedding tears as a way of apologizing, laughing at customers’ jokes), each age has a definite set of behavior rules to be followed, which also shape the persona of the geiko/ maiko. Similar to matsuri otoko, the geiko present themselves as keepers of tradition, stating without exception that they chose this career due to their love for Japanese culture, music and dance. None of my interviews yielded any negative comments on their lives as maiko or geiko: yes, the training was hard, but rewarding, and they were proud to be symbols of Kyoto and Japan. We can identify here the pattern of using a specific narrative that justifies and provides purpose to the role played by the actors in question. The matsuri otoko live in a men-only world where they are the pillars of the community and its representatives in the interaction with the divine, and as such must be neither tainted nor hindered by female interference. The geiko live in a women-only world as keepers of culture and tradition, where men are allowed as spectators only. In both cases, the most genuine behavior I witnessed was during the matsuri organization meetings (which are accessible only to registered members of the group), and the preparations for the omisedashi 14 — the special ceremony where a new maiko is presented to the world. Those were moments when the contrast between the role played on stage and the real person behind the actor’s mask became visible: the matsuri otoko were worried that things might not go according to plan, that there might be accidents, angry at various mistakes committed during the planning or during the previous matsuri, excited about the event to come; the future maiko was trembling with anxiety and emotion, the older geiko were trying to help her, the okaasan (mother, owner of the geisha house) was trying to 14 the ritual showing of a new maiko to the world, which marks her ascension from shikomi (a teenage girl who lives in an okiya and trains to become a maiko) to maiko (Tamas 2021: 104).