Outline

-Intro
~views on men/women's social relationships from then till now
~major players, Liza Dalby, Mineko Iwasaki, Lesley Downer, Saddayako, Aurthor Golden
-History
~beginnings (1700's)
~where and how they started, who they were, ties to kabuki
~cultural view on prostitution/pleasure quarters
~visual marks of geisha vs oiran, from drab women to the height of fashion
~training of geisha
~levels of districts, mizuage, donna, ect.
*what the profession meant in a personal sense to the women who were in it
~1920's and 30's the peak of the geisha and the rush for more girls
~The damage from World War II and "geisha girls"
-Current Position of Geisha
~High class to Hot Springs Geisha
~The benefits of geisha
~The cost and risks associated with training/being a Geisha now
~The problems with teaching the traditional forms and the lack of time to do so.
~Sealed lips = Misinformation even to the Japanese
-Current media and information concerning geisha
~view of Geisha in "coffee table books" and movies
~Madame Saddayako, Autobiography of a Geisha, and Memoirs of an Geisha and the resulting catastrophe
~Prime Minister's scandal and the outcry from the community
~sensationalising of of sex even in documentaries
-Trends in the Geisha community
~current draws to the profession
~Women are getting into the profession much later and why
~Some are working without the support of a Geisha house and what that entails
~Fashion/Training/Schooling trends
~Geisha bars