SHIMODA, Japan (Reuters) - It takes Rinka at least two hours to apply her thick white makeup and get dressed in an elaborate kimono on formal occasions, as is typical of most trainee geisha. But ...

KYOTO, Japan — On the quiet streets of Kyoto you will get a glimpse of them. Dressed in Kimono. The familiar white makeup. Walking quickly. That is the extent of what most people see of a geisha.

For decades, a pic’s international marketing followed the cues of the all-important domestic launch. But the Japanese campaign for “Memoirs of a Geisha” is more lavish — and on a much faster track — ...

KYOTO, Japan – Against a backdrop of blooming cherry blossoms, a group of geishas elegantly shuffle onto a stage in Japan’s Kyoto city to begin a centuries-old performance celebrating the arrival of ...

Japanese geisha "Chacha" sits on her knees with her fingertips neatly placed on the wooden floor, gracefully bowing to an audience sitting not in front of her but miles away, watching online. Beneath ...

Misconceptions about geisha that stem from highly sensationalized stories from Western perspectives flatten the complex cultural artistry of the profession. Detail of a Katsura, a geisha wig. Before ...

Maiko (apprentice geisha) take part in a press interview ahead of a rehearsal for the annual "Miyako Odori" -- which means "capital city dance" in Japanese, at the Gion Kobu Kaburenjo in Kyoto on ...

Apprentice geisha take part in a press interview ahead a rehearsal for the annual ‘Miyako Odori’ — which means ‘capital city dance’ in Japanese, in Kyoto. (AFP pic) Against a backdrop of blooming ...