Who Are The Most Famous Geisha In History? – 3 Historical Women You Need To Know About

Are you interested in learning about the most famous geisha women in history? If you are, then this article is going to be exactly what you need.

We talk about three women who are known for being amazing geisha throughout history. With all of that being said, let us dive right in and show you everything that you need to know about these three amazing women.

But before we do that let us quickly go over what exactly a geisha is, as there is a bit of miscommunication as to what their jobs actually entail. So, let’s get started!

What Is A Geisha?

Geisha (see also ‘What Are Male Geisha Called? – What You Need To Know!‘) or Geiko is essentially a person of art. They are normally women and they spend a long time learning many different arts like playing musical instruments, studying dance, and other traditional cultural practices (see also ‘3 Musical Instruments Synonymous With Kabuki Explored‘).

In essence, they are the illusion of the perfect female. Geisha are shaped to portray men’s fantasy of perfection and many men pay large sums of money just to get the services that a geisha offers.

Much of the western world think of geisha as prostitutes but anyone that understands Japanese culture will know that this idea could not be further from the truth.

Geisha are successful too, because they have been taught to be the most unattainable perfection. So when men hire them for parties, sex does not have anything to do with it.

A geisha will entertain their clients with singing, dancing, telling stories, personal conversation tailored to their customers, flirtation, and various other things.

Discover The Stories Of The Most Famous Geisha In History

In this section we are going to take a look at the three most famous geisha in history (see also ‘Where Can You Find Geisha In Modern Day Japan?‘). There are obviously many other famous and talented geisha now and from the past. These three women really stand out as the most famous geisha Japan has ever seen.

Mineko Iwasaki

If you are looking for the best geisha out there, then it has to be Mineko Iwasaki. This geisha was born back in 1949 in the city of Tokyo. She was thought to be the best geisha in Japan (see also ‘Can You Take Pictures Of Geisha?‘).

Sadly she left the industry extremely young and never revealed why. The reason that she stood out when she was a maiko was because she was such a fantastic dancer.

Even when she was twenty-one she was so good that she was known throughout the city. In fact, she was so talented that she even entertained the Queen of England and her son Prince Charles.

But this was not the main reason she was so famous. The real reason that Mineko became so famous outside of Japan was because of a book that was released about her.

This book was even adapted into a film and called ‘Memoirs of a Geisha’. The book was written by a man named Arthur Golden and quickly became a bestseller. This was because it spoke of stories that only geisha knew about.

Kiharu Nakamura

Kiharu wrote yet another book similar to the one we mentioned above. This geisha was very famous in Japan but later on decided to leave the country.

It is not clear why this is but she was thought to be a protagonist in the world of literature due to the fact that the book she wrote was so similar to the story about Mineko Iwasaki.

Kiharu also entertained very affluent and famous people. Some think that even the most renowned people at the time. People like Charlie Chaplin and Cocteau are just a couple of the famous people that she entertained in her time.

Kiharu Nakamura was married to a diplomat, who she later divorced, and then moved to New York City where she wrote a book about her life adventures.

She was thought to be a great defender of Japanese culture. This is because she often advised those that spoke to her on the subject.

Sada Yacco

This geisha came from a prominent family in Japan back in 1871. It was even said that she was a descendant of Samurai.

But her dazzling career as a geisha took off as a result of some bad luck. This bad luck began when Sada was seven years of age when her father got into a lot of debt. It was at this time, she was left with the geisha to settle this debt.

While Sada was with the geisha she was taught various traditional arts such as the tea ceremony, flower arranging, singing, dancing, flower arranging, and even theater.

At fifteen years of age she became the minister’s mistress. This was because she was so beautiful and magnificent in all of her shows. Sada met her husband, Kawakami Otojiro who was an actor in Tokyo.

Later on they both set off to make their marks in the United States. mWhen the couple arrived in America they befriended Isadora Duncan who helped to make Sada famous.

She became immediately famous in the United States and even scored an appearance in France and even starred in several other affluent shows.

Final Thoughts

We hope that you have enjoyed reading this article and learning about these amazing geisha women.

Mineko Iwasaki, Kiharu Nakamura, and Sada Yacco were all very accomplished and elegant women who embraced the lifestyle of the geisha.

Each one of these geisha have made their mark in Japan or even in some cases the Western world. There are a lot of other famous geisha that we have not mentioned in this article.

So if you find this piece of history interesting make sure to do a little digging of your own. There are geisha from the past and present that are truly amazing in their field.