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In this issue:
-Re: (picture) My Geisha (2)
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From: "Robert Feinstein" They serve an apprenticeship under the aegis of highly sophisticated members of their craft. A delightful film of several years ago starred Shirley MacLaine as an American movie star who took a crash course in becoming a geisha for the purpose of fooling her husband. It was called "My Geisha." Some geisha, even now, are almost legendary for their social skills. I have heard of one who spoke eight languages fluently, painted like a Japanese master, wrote haiku (a Japanese poetry form), wore $100,000 kimonos, made several millions of dollars a year, and eventually married one of the most prominent members of Japan's diplomatic corps and enjoyed great success as an international hostess. In the Gion District of Kyoto, I attended in the 1970s the famous Miyako Odori. Gion is a traditional geisha center of great charm and architectural beauty. The Miyako Odori is a theatrical entertainment performed by maiko (apprentice geisha dancers and musicians) and full-fledged geisha. There are dramatic skits, musical numbers, dancing and poetry recitations by elegantly beautiful women in all varieties of Japanese dress. Japanese standards of beauty are rather different from Western ones for both women and men and often require a mental adjustment in a Westerner for full appreciation. Geisha perform the traditional tea ceremony for you before you enter the theater. The Miyako Odori was unlike anything I had ever seen, and I have attended theatrical entertainments in as many as thirty countries.
True geisha are perhaps rare these days, but
there are many women in the business with
lesser skills who pass themselves off as geisha
and some of those are prostitutes, but it has
taken many turns in the road during the past few
decades as traditional roles shift and often
wither in Japanese industrial society. But I am
told that there are still great geisha houses
closed to the tourist or foreign trade, serving the
wealthiest men of Japan in the same manner as
they have for hundreds of years.
His coup failed, but not before his troops held the Japanese army and Tokyo police at bay outside a government ministry they occupied until he could commit ritual suicide -- seppuku, also known as hara-kiri -- in spiritual atonement for his failure. He was only 45. His 19-year-old lover, whose name was Morita as I recall, stood at his side while Mishima disemboweled himself and then lifted a Samurai sword and mercifully decapitated the Nobel laureate to prevent an excess of suffering during the throes of death. I think Morita then shot himself. This was the stuff of legends, and so it has become today. I understand that a large number of young men in Japan today revere Mishima, feeling that his predictions for the social upheaval of the country through Western influence have come to pass.
I have attached a semi-nude picture of Mishima
here. He was a gorgeous man, a martial artist in
prime physical condition at the time of his death.
He was the subject of a bad movie by Paul
Schrader in 1985, but remains a gay icon in
Japan. One of his many books was openly gay,
"Forbidden Colors," and dealt with gay life in
contemporary Japan. Love for the older man has
always been a feature of homosexuality in Japan.
Many younger men, as well as some olders,
worship the silverfox. Perhaps a Japanese person on the list will correct me where I am wrong and perhaps also will give us some more information from an "insider" point of view.
Ben Boxer I must say, Ben has his facts straight. However, Gay, or rather in Japanese "OKAMA-SAMA", is looked upon as interesting, Gays or Homosexuality, "better" is excepted and not looked down upon as in the US. Homosexuals here are just "Interesting" meaning, that they find it funny a man searches and wants sex with another man. This is mainly due to the part that Sexual pleasure from a woman is highly available. Ladies, Girls are sort of "Easy", either for money, or companionship. Today, it is real common for the "Oyagi-san" (old Japanese Man) to engage with younger japanese females, either for companionship (non sexual) or even sexual. I would say that it is hard to distinguish between straight and gay japanese. Men are Men, and both can be deceived. Japanese Men in their way at times can apear very effeminate, or conduct themselves in HOMO like behaivour. ie.. holding hands, hugging and even kissing on each other, yet none the less they do not desire or wish to partake in sexual man to man intercourse. Unlike USA, they do not chastise you or feel you are strange because you like gay, they just see it as difference. But if a man makes their intentions known that they like girls, one should should not proceed to have a sexual incounter with them unless they soon lose face, no matter what their behavior is like. In Japan, I have been to Shinjuku, and it is best to EXPLORE and aquire a sexual relation there than per se in a "Snack Bar" or amongst co-workers, unless their intentions are clear. It is known for "Straight" Japanese, expecially when inebriated with alcohol to do things that normally would not be acceptable in society, or as Straight men, i.e. grab one's genitals, hugging on one, even kissing (on the cheek), and rubbing one;s feet or back, etc. These are socially accepted behaviors of men when consumption of alcohol occurs, however a foreigner should not take it as one desiring homosexual act or tendancies. It is just that Japanese have a "HEART FELT FEELING" of one another (KOKORO - KIMOCHI) A good feeling of the heart of the person they are with. VERY IMPORTANT if you do not want to "FUCK UP" when here in Japan is not to assume, a guy is gay, unless he DIRECTLY makes his intentions known, by telling you outright and straight that he wants to do it with you. Anything else is just the alcohol talking and the next day, all is forgotten and forgiven. Even communal baths, ONSEN's, Ofuro',s Sento's, are filled with people that go about relaxing in hot water springs, but do not engage or act upon homosexual tendancies, and a foreigner's worst nightmare is to be IDENTIFIED as an OKAME-Sama, in one of these places. Believe me you will definitely not like being stared at or pointed at as "THERE IS THE STRANGE GAIJIN" (foreigner), and being made to feel unwanted. Best to keep to yourself unless aproached and asked directly. Other than that, have fun and enjoy,
Miyamoto Actually, the said picture is not a fox at all, but a coyote; one of the mascots of the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympic games. On a side note, in typical Utah fashion, there is a $20 bounty offered on all coyotes killed here in the land of Zion. This is standard Utah mentality, where the air and attitude are both foul and people have a board (not of the snow variety) firmly wedged in their asses. Be it known, that the world is not really welcome here, but if you decide to come, please bring lots of money to give to the mormon cultists, expect to be proselytized at every opportunity and don't expect to get a decent drink of alcohol if you are planning to attend this event.
buzter
Hi Buzter, I can understand what you are referring to in terms of alcohol comsumption, we had a dilly of a time trying to figure out all the local ordinances regarding such. We just gave up instead!
Edward
End of silverfoxesclub-digest V1 #146
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In modern times, we have witnessed an attempt
at the revival of the Samurai code in the life of
Japan's Nobel-prize-winning author Mishima
Yukio. (The Japanese, like the Italians and some
others, reverse names, with the last one first.
Here, he is known as Yukio Mishima.) Mishima
was very handsome, was married with children,
but was an enigmatic figure known also to love
men. He is still the focus of many arguments on
both sides in Japan. He organized a surprisingly
powerful army of idealistic young men, many of
them gay, and attempted the take-over of the
Japanese government in 1970. His goal was to
return Japan to its traditional values in rejection
of corrupting Western influence.