The Nightmare Behind The Art: Addressing the Exploitation of Maiko and Geisha Girls

Author: Sarisha Harikrishna

July 23, 2026

[Image credit: South China Morning Post]

Historical Background

A geisha is a traditional Japanese female entertainer trained in classical music, dance, and conversation, whose primary role is to host guests at banquets and teahouses with grace, wit, and artistic skill. ‘The very word geisha means artist, and to be a geisha is to be judged as a moving work of art.’ This poignant sentence was lifted from the film Memoirs of a Geisha, and even though the film is a fictional piece, the immense pressure that geisha and maiko girls have to go through is very much a devastating reality. The road to becoming a woman of the art scene in Japan is a grueling and taxing one, with many young girls entering the industry in their teenage years, specifically around the age of 15, since the industry requires that they master difficult classical Japanese arts early and develop the hospitality skills necessary to become a good host. A maiko is an apprentice of the arts, directly translating to ‘dancing child’, and they are usually aged between 15 and 20 years. The differences between a maiko and a geisha can be observed through their level of expertise, makeup, level of responsibility, and their clothing, as seen in the picture below:

Differences between the maiko and geisha clothing [Image credit: Maikoya]

The differences between maiko and geisha in terms of their clothing are summarized in the table below: 

Clothing Feature	Maiko (Apprentice)	Geisha/Geiko (Professional)
Kimono style	Wears bright, highly decorative furisode kimonos with long, flowing sleeves and colourful, heavily embroidered red collars	Wears mature, subdued tomesode kimonos with shorter sleeves and a solid white collar
Kimono sleeves	Long sleeves (furisode style)	Short sleeves (tomesode style)
Collar colour	Red collar	White collar
Obi (sash)	Long, colourful, and elaborate	Shorter, simpler belt
Footwear	Tall wooden sandals called okobo (often with small bells that chime when walking)	Low flat sandals called zori
Overall look	Youthful, flashing, and attention-grabbing	Refined, understated, and sophisticated

After graduating, the maiko become geisha (also referred to as geiko in the Kyoto province) and are regarded as experts in their fields. The geisha entertain clients at high-end dinners through their expertise in traditional performances. The roots of the profession trace back to the early 18th century, when the original entertainers were mostly male, with a profound shift to a female-centric character by the 1800s. During the Meiji Restoration, which was a major political and social revolution that allowed the country to renegotiate treaties with Western nations to avoid colonization, the maiko and geisha community was viewed with deep reverence for their role as custodians of culture and national tradition. While elite geisha maintained their artistic prestige, the early Taishō (1912-1926) and Shōwa (1926-1989) periods brought trials and tribulations for the community, such as intense social scrutiny, as rising feminist movements and modern alternatives challenged the profession’s standing in society. Examples of the modern alternatives that threatened to push the industry into redundancy were the Jokyū, which referred to waitresses, and the rise of the Kyabakura, which are hostess clubs and direct descendants of the Jokyū model. 

A review of feminist perspectives during the two periods illustrates a divide in understanding of the profession. While some feminists state that the profession gave women the chance to be economically independent, others, such as prominent activist and outspoken champion of women’s suffrage in Japan, Shidzue Kato, condemned the geisha system as a threat to monogamous marriage and a symbol of subservience to the same patriarchal standards that had undermined the advancement of women for centuries. Additionally, progressive reformers such as Fukuzawa Yukichi stated that the profession was a hurdle to achieving the standard of civilization exemplified by Western countries and contributed to the commodification of women’s bodies. Scholars such as Mori Arinori shared the same views, and this led to a wider discussion of the profession’s role in a modernizing Japan. 

This socio-political pressure forced the profession to evolve its public image, shifting from an outdated Western colonial perception that viewed it as adjacent to prostitution to one that recognized the geisha as fully-fledged artists proficient in current affairs and capable of providing intellectual companionship to clients. Although the 300-year-old profession has faced hurdles throughout different periods of Japanese history, it has weathered the test of time, a testament to the grit and adaptability of practitioners across generations. However, the same secrecy of the profession, which has served it well by protecting the privacy of elite clients, has also fostered a culture of impunity, as former members have alleged abuse. This article seeks to unravel the darker side of the profession and push for better working conditions for women in the sector.

Abuse, Sexual Harassment, and Exploitation in the Profession

Historically, the traditional geisha apprenticeship (maiko) was heavily marred by a system of contract labour, which disproportionately impacted young girls from impoverished backgrounds. Typically, these families would send their daughters to a geisha house, known as okiya, which provided basic amenities and the necessary training to become a geisha. However, due to massive costs incurred as a result of paying for intricate and expensive kimonos alongside highly specialized lessons, these young girls are forced to repay the debts and endure exploitation for decades to come. According to a 1953 survey conducted by the Women and Youth Division of Japan’s Ministry of Labour, around three per cent of girls were trafficked into the geisha industry that year, but critics have pointed out that child trafficking was a fairly prevalent problem at that time due to how normalized it was for these girls to be trafficked into the profession by way of ‘adoption contracts.’ 

Behind the elegance of the profession, young girls would have to complete physically gruesome household tasks before commencing formal training, a practice that died after World War II and has been rendered illegal under a combination of modern Japanese child labour, human welfare, and anti-prostitution laws, specifically the Anti-Prostitution Act of 1956. Although women who enter the profession today do so of their own free will, they are still entrenched in the same cycle of abuse that harmed their predecessors, albeit in a different form. The enactment of the 1956 Anti-Prostitution Act, which officially took effect in 1958, was hailed for two reasons: the first being that it would dispel the cloud of taboo that hung over the profession because of its perceived association with brothels, and the second being that it would provide better protections for young, impressionable maikos from being subjected to prostitution. 

Coming out to the world with harrowing stories of their personal experiences in the profession requires a level of bravery, as the act is shunned by senior members of the profession. Therefore, it is almost unheard of for survivors to share their stories with the media, for fear of being shamed and having their voices diminished. For instance, in 1994, several maiko had escaped from their houses and held a press conference to tell the world of the injustices that they had suffered through, such as being subjected to corporal punishment, bullying, and having their earnings taken from them. The four girls, who describe their experience as maikos akin to ‘factory girls of the 19th century’, stated that for an offence of looking dishevelled, they would be stripped naked and forced to isolate in a bathroom. It was hoped that their groundbreaking testimony could bring about a change within the geisha system.

The hopes of these young women were ultimately left unfulfilled for decades until a former maiko named Kiyoha Kiritaka stepped forward to continue what they had started over 32 years ago. After discovering traditional Japanese dance and being mesmerized by the fluidity of movements displayed by maikos and geishas, Kiyoha began pursuing traditional dancing. At the age of 15, she was approached by a businessman after her dance recital who recognized her talent and offered to introduce her to an okiya. Despite initial reluctance, her family’s financial constraints, which made it unrealistic for them to fund higher education, finally gave her the final push to take him up on his offer. She debuted as a maiko at the tender age of 15 in 2015, but was soon exposed to the dark reality of the profession. At 16, she was forced to drink extreme amounts of alcohol as a maiko, despite the legal drinking age in Japan being 20 years old. She was also sexually harassed, groped by customers, and coerced into showering with them, experiences that she later shared with her house mother, who brushed them off and blamed her. 

Kiyoha Kiritaka, an outspoken activist on the abuse that she had suffered during her time as a maiko [Image credit: Noriko Hayashi/The Telegraph] 

Despite facing fear of retaliation from individuals in the industry and broader society, she remained steadfast and determined in shedding light on the abuse in the industry. This decision has since brought waves of support her way, with her Twitter account amassing over 50 thousand followers. She endured eight months of abuse until she overheard the house mother trying to sell her virginity to a customer, which was the straw that broke the camel’s back and pushed her to finally escape from the horrors of that house on a cold February night in 2016, at just 16 years of age. Since leaving the industry, she has been an advocate for meaningful change and reform to better safeguard young girls from the unscrupulous hands of customers and the dismissal of their house mothers. When her former workplace (okiya) was contacted after she came forward with her story, they largely remained silent, save for the issuance of a formal written denial by the Kyoto Traditional Musical Art Foundation, which oversees the geisha districts in Kyoto. 

Policy Recommendations for Minor Safety and Labour Rights

In this article, it has been established that both maiko and geisha suffer from financial and sexual abuse. In order to comprehensively protect these groups, Japan is recommended to implement a dual-layered regulatory framework that addresses the specific vulnerabilities of both. The traditional training process is in a legal gray area, since the law does not recognize the trainees as employees or legally contracted independent professionals, but merely as performers. However, their job scope complies with that of an office worker, sometimes extending into the early hours of the morning. Since maiko typically have to leave formal education after junior high school, it is recommended that such regulations ensure the continuation of their education and guarantee that their wages are deposited into their own individual bank accounts. These bank accounts should not be allowed to be accessed in any way by the head mother.

Furthermore, sexual harassment and abuse from customers should be treated as severe statutory violations under the Penal Code of Japan, specifically under the offence of ‘indecent assault’, a move that would offer prospective young maiko security in a profession where it is common to dismiss allegations of sexual abuse. The owners of the okiya should also face strict repercussions in the event that they are found to violate the rules and regulations in place by forcing maiko and geisha to keep quiet about their abuse. An independent mechanism or tribunal should also be established to ensure that the conditions in the okiya comply with international treaties and domestic law. In ending this article, it is apt to quote the powerful words of former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan: 

‘No calling is more noble, and no responsibility greater, than that of enabling men, women and children, in cities and villages around the world, to live their lives in security and dignity.’

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Glossary

• Brothel: A business establishment where sex workers are available for hire.

• Child trafficking: The use of children for the purpose of exploitation in various ways.

• Commodification: The fact that something is treated or considered as a commodity, a product that can be bought and sold.

• Corporal punishment: The physical punishment of people, especially of children, by hitting them.

• Custodian: A person with responsibility for protecting or taking care of something or keeping something in good condition.

• Enactment: The act of putting something into action, especially the act of making something law. 

• Exploitation: The act of using someone unfairly for your own advantage. 

• Furisode: The most formal style of kimono worn by unmarried women in Japan. It is easily distinguished by its dramatic, long flowing sleeves (ranging from 85 cm to 114 cm), the name literally translates to ‘swinging sleeves.’

• Hospitality: The act of being friendly and welcoming to guests and visitors.

• Impressionable: Easily influenced by other people, especially because you are young. 

• Impunity: Freedom from punishment or from the unpleasant results of something that has been done. 

• Indecent assault: An attack on someone that involves sexual actions but not rape. 

• Kyabakura: A hostess club, which is seen as a popular aspect of Japanese nightlife, where patrons pay for drinks and the company of female hosts. 

• Jokyū: A cafe waitress. The term emerged during the early 20th century, with many of these women serving as working-class icons.

• Meiji Restoration: The political revolution in 1868 Japan that brought about the final demise of the Tokugawa shogunate (military government), thus ending the Edo (Tokugawa) period and returned control of the country to direct imperial rule under Mutsuhito. 

• Penal Code: A compiled set of laws that defines criminal offenses and specifies the corresponding punishments. It establishes what acts or omissions are illegal within a specific jurisdiction and outlines the legal consequences for committing those crimes. 

• Repercussions: An unintended, indirect, or secondary result of an action or event.

• Statutory: Of or relating to statutes. 

• Tribunal: An official, specialized body or committee appointed to judge or determine a specific type of dispute or claim. 

• Unscrupulous: Behaving in a way that is dishonest or unfair in order to get what you want. 

• Zori: A traditional Japanese slip-on sandal featuring a flat, often raised sole and a Y-shaped thong that passes between the big and second toe. 

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References

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20. Anti-Prostitution Act of 1956

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