The connection to entertainment and performance is clear even in the aesthetics of geisha—the striking painted-on white makeup that is so striking is also found in kabuki theater and in the pale white masks used in Noh theater.
“In Edo-era theatre-related publications from the late 17th through early 18th centuries, geisha usually means kabuki actor, when kabuki actors were default male at that time,” Isaka says.
And, like the traditional performance houses of kabuki and Noh, geisha houses follow a system of passing down knowledge and skills through hierarchical systems to guide maiko, geisha-in-training, along their journey.
These maiko, generally between fifteen to twenty years old, learn tea ceremony, dance, and even music as part of their training. Becoming a geisha is a rigorous process that takes nearly a decade and includes a probationary period, apprenticeship, and training before a young woman even debuts as a maiko. Once a maiko, there is further training to become a geisha.
AloJapan.com