paper or thin, wooden walls, which, again, seem workmanlike. I do wonder if I have not entered a poorhouse but been charged the price for staying in a luxury establishment?
We all gathered in a certain room and were introduced to a kindly Geisha, who looks very young and beautiful, but claims to be years older! If the world would like a beauty regimen that actually works, they need only consult her, I daresay. She explained that Geisha means Artist, or Artisan, and the Geisha are skilled in music, dance, literature, history, and conversation. They entertain guests with their superior talents.
She was quite entertaining indeed, as she told the story of the Akuma Sentō bathhouse.
The bath house was haunted by an Onryō. This is a powerless victim in life who achieves power in death. She was an onsen geisha, whose name does not bear repeating, we are told, and who once worked in the historical bath-house. Our Geisha explained that these onsen geisha had the bad reputation of selling sexual favors and providing erotic dances. I was quite shocked to hear this! To
think that a true Geisha, with that perfect beauty regime, should ever be compared to a prostitute! The true Geisha do not approve of the onsen geisha, thankfully.
This Onryō was sold into the establishment as a child, where she suffered abuse at the hands of her employers as well as her clients. It is said her flower was taken even before her Mizuage, or coming of age ceremony, where her virginity was sold to the highest bidder! I cannot imagine such a life! I am an Englishwoman, and to hear of such an outrage causes my emotions to spiral inward. I felt that I was boiling like a kettle!
On the night of her Mizuage, the Onryō was savagely violated, and she went mad. She took up a katana, or sword, and killed her patron. She went on to kill her masters, the other geisha and patrons, who were all taken by surprise and could not overpower her rage. The Onryō could not be stopped, and the authorities decided the only way to end the rampage was to set fire to the bath-house and burn the woman alive!( We were presented with some lovely prints of the incident.)