History Main / Geisha

* During the Wano arc of ''Manga/OnePiece'', most of the members of the Straw Hat Pirates go undercover in various roles to recruit more samurai to their cause and/or get information. Nico Robin disguises herself as a geisha named "O-Robi", and hopes to be invited to the shogun's palace to entertain for him so she can snoop around. Despite being a newcomer, she does well enough in the role to become a popular geisha in that short amount of time and does indeed get invited to perform at the palace, and is successfully able to sneak away and gather a good deal of useful intel before she's eventually discovered.

* Although she's not one, ComicBook/{{Shi}} uses geisha's makeup (white face with bright red lips) and haircut as a form of {{homage}} of her heritage (she's half-Japanese half-American). In some artworks, she's seen dressed as one, in {{Stripperific}} form of course.

* ''Videogame/SoulSeries'': In all of Setsuka's incarnations, she has been depicted as wearing a kimono or a similar robe. Her first design, as seen in ''VideoGame/SoulCaliburIII'', was similar to the Japanese courtesans known as Oiran, who wore cosmetics and clothing similar to geisha but tied their sashes in the front of their belts instead of wearing a backwards obi. This similarity was referenced in one of Setsuka's kicks, "Oiran kick”.

''Geisha'', also known as ''geiko'' or ''geiki'', are traditional Japanese female entertainers whose skills include music and dance, fine conversation, and tea ceremony. Geisha are easily recognizable by their hairstyle, their elaborate UsefulNotes/{{kimono}} and their white make-up.

Geisha who have not yet completed their training are called ''maiko'' ("dancing girl/child"), and tend to be more colorfully arrayed than their adult counterparts, with different hair pieces for each month, and different styles according to the level of apprenticeship. A young maiko is apprenticed to an [[CoolBigSis ''onee-san'' (older sister)]], [[OneeSama a fully-fledged geisha]] whom she assists, resides with, and learns from. Traditionally, those who chose to marry had to retire from the profession, though today, some geisha are allowed to marry.

For a long time the role of the geisha has been seen as mysterious, exotic, and alluring. [[{{MistakenForProstitute}} Contrary to popular belief]], geisha are '''not''' prostitutes (that would be ''yuujo'' or "pleasure women", of which the top tier were the famous [[HighClassCallGirl ''oiran'' or ''tayuu'']], both predating geisha), but rather practitioners of the traditional arts, party hostesses and professional conversationalists, with stage names and distinct personal lives. On the other hand they weren't nuns either, as a geisha was free to be romantically and/or sexually involved with guests. Sex for money is off the menu though -- back in the day, even before prostitution was banned in Japan in 1956, prostitutes had to be licensed to work as such, and geisha were licensed as geisha; [[MyGirlIsNotASlut a woman couldn't hold both licenses, it was illegal]]. That hasn't stopped them from being the object of many a fantasy.

* OnlyOneName: Geisha are typically known by just one name, which are [[StageName "professional" names]] often taken from poetry or classic literature. As geisha move up the ranks, they [[MeaningfulRename change their names]] to reflect this.

* In ''Film/Zatoichi2003'', two late 19th century geishas find themselves caught in a {{Yakuza}} MobWar and received unexpected help from the titular BlindWeaponmaster.

* ''VideoGame/{{Pokemon|GoldAndSilver}} [=Soul=]Silver'' and ''[[VideoGame/PokemonHeartGold Heart Gold]]'' features six Geisha (called "kimono girls" in the English version) who the protagonist meets though his or her journey, cumulating in an event where they use a dance ceremony to summon Lugia or Ho-oh depending on the version. (Who you have to try to tame.)

* Yum-Yum, Peep-Bo and Pitti-Sing are three Maiko (apprentice Geisha) in Creator/GilbertAndSullivan's ''Theatre/TheMikado.'' The work is far from being accurate, and many productions play it UpToEleven, making these characters a pile of anachronisms and inaccuracies.

* Erika from ''VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue'' resembles this a bit, in the ''{{Anime/Pokemon}}'' anime she even dressed like a Geisha at a few points.

* In VideoGame/SlyCooperThievesInTime, at some point when the Cooper Gang [[TimeTravel time travels]] to ancient Japan, Murray had to [[DisguisedInDrag disguise himself as a Geisha]] in order to get some intel on the criminal they were fighting. All other Geisha were only seen on posters around the Geisha house.
* In VideoGame/BorderlandsThePreSequel, The town of Concordia has a Geisha Bot named Sereena who works for Moxxi. She doesn't appear in the game outside of an Echo recording.

* Although she's not one, ComicBook/{{Shi}} uses geisha's makeup (white face with bright red lips) and haircut as a form of {{homage}} of her heritage (she's [[MixedAncestry half-Japanese half-American]]). In some artworks, she's seen dressed as one, in {{Stripperific}} form of course.

* The seventh ''Manga/DetectiveConan'' NonSerialMovie, set in Kyoto, has the characters investigating in the ''Gion'' district and befriending the teahouse owner Tae Yamakura, the ''maiko'' [[spoiler: and Tae's adoptive daughter]] Suzu Chika and the geisha Kayo Ichi. [[spoiler: Suzu is one of the suspects of being a SerialKiller, specially since she's a former archer when at least one of the victims was killed with arrows, but she turns out to just be a RedHerring.]]