The Telegraph, in Geisha numbers grow as internet and TV coverage explodes, points out that number of registered Geisha in Japan is increasing for the first time since the 1950s. Geisha now number over 100 members:

The numbers of young maiko, or trainee Geisha, rose above 100 in March this year for the first time since time since the 1950s. The boom in recruiting follows the establishment of a website by the Kyoto Traditional Musical Art Foundation, which made the music, dance and practices of the Geisha available to those outside the formerly closed world of the courtesans and their clients.

Geisha recruitment hit a nadir of 28 in 1978. In the post-Second World War changes roiling Japanese society, which weakened the monarchy and aristocracy, theirs appeared to be a vanishing world. In the following decades the annual numbers stabilised between 50 and 80.

In the modern world, the Geisha trade is complicated by the easy availability of entertainment in the form of bars, clubs, the internet, access to pornography, and mobile networking. Furthermore, Geisha are expected to be single; if they marry, they retire.

One Response to “Geisha Population Increasing Statistically”

1. kate says:

   1/2/2009 at 11:31 pm

   the number of maiko, not geisha, has reached over 100. there has been about 200 active geishas for the last 50 years. it is only the number of girls starting as maikos that has decresed or incresed

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