芸子

Japanese

Japanese Wikipedia has an article on:

芸子

English Wikipedia has an article on:

Geisha

Alternative spelling
藝子 (kyūjitai)

芸子 (geiko): a geiko or geisha in Kyoto.

Compound of 芸 (gei, “art, arts, especially performing arts”) +‎ 子 (ko, “child, small thing, junior”).

芸(げい)子(こ) • (geiko)

a geisha, especially a young geisha
a young kabuki actor, especially one still in training
a talented person, especially with regard to performing
short for 芸子髷 (geiko mage): a special kind of hairstyle traditionally worn by geisha

For the sense of a woman employed to wear traditional dress and entertain using traditional song, dance, music, and storytelling:^[2]

geisha is the most general term.
geigi is most often used in writing, typically more formal writing.
geiko is more common in the Kansai region of Japan.
kirei-dokoro can be used to mean a beautifully dressed woman, but more often refers to a woman working as an entertainer in a red-light district.
hidarizuma is a somewhat old-fashioned epithet for a geisha, referring to the way that geisha hold onto the left (hidari) edge below the collar portion (tsuma) of their kimono while walking.

(geisha):
- 芸者 (げいしゃ, geisha)
- 芸妓 (げいぎ, geigi)
- 綺麗所, 綺麗どころ, 奇麗どころ (きれいどころ, kirei-dokoro)
- 左褄 (ひだりづま, hidarizuma)
(kabuki actor): 舞台子 (ぶたいこ, butaiko)
(talented person): 芸人 (げいにん, geinin)
(hairstyle): 芸子髷 (げいこまげ, geiko mage)

^ Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
^ Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN