CrosswordNewsletters
DAILY BEAST
  • Capitol Riots
  • Covid-19
  • Cheat Sheet
  • Politics
  • Entertainment
  • Media
  • World
  • Half Full
  • U.S. News
  • Scouted
  • Travel
Culture

The Secret World of Male Geishas

Served

The original Japanese geishas were male, and today their influence is apparent in the burgeoning popularity of male ‘hosts’ in bars and clubs. Just don’t mention sex.

Brandon Presser

Updated Feb. 06, 2019 2:53PM ET / Published Feb. 04, 2015 5:50AM ET 
BEAST INSIDE

Everett Kennedy Brown/EPA/Corbis

White powder, cherry lips, a dazzling robe, and flirty eyes—the geisha wins the audience’s attention in the hidden ochaya, a wooden teahouse tucked down a Kyoto back alley. Graceful arm gestures are the prelude to a carefully crafted joke, then, suddenly a low voice bellows from the geisha’s mouth. This isn’t a drag show—it’s a rare appearance by the elusive taikomochi, or male geisha.

“Today there are only a handful of taikomochi left in the country,” says Akemi Toyama, the head concierge of the Ritz-Carlton Kyoto, “but long ago they were much more popular.”

“Actually, the original geisha were only men,” adds Laura Miller, a leading professor of Japanese Studies at the University of Missouri-St. Louis.

READ THIS LIST

DAILY BEAST
  • Capitol Riots
  • Covid-19
  • Cheat Sheet
  • Politics
  • Entertainment
  • Media
  • World
  • Half Full
  • U.S. News
  • Scouted
  • Travel
  • Beast Inside
  • Crossword
  • Newsletters
  • About
  • Contact
  • Tips
  • Jobs
  • Advertise
  • Help
  • Privacy
  • Code of Ethics & Standards
  • Diversity
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Copyright & Trademark
  • Sitemap
  • Coupons
© 2021 The Daily Beast Company LLC