NO WAY! Really?

When I tell people I am from Australia, they often say something like, "Koala!" or "Kangaroo!". In English, a normal response  would be "Really? Whereabouts in Australia do you come from?" But as I live in Japan I try to do things the Japanese way, and play along with the shout famous things from your country game, so I often respond with, "Samurai!" or "Geisha!"


Foreigners seem so have some sort of obsession with the idea of geisha. (That silly Hollywood movie made things even worse) Whenever a I pass through the Gion in Kyoto there are always tourists with huge cameras, taking photos of any young lady wearing a kimono or yukata, be she a maiko or not. Well during my study of all things Japanese, I found something very interesting about these iconic ladies, that would surprise many people. Originally they were all men. That's right MEN! In fact the first "Onna Geisha" did not arrive until 1751. If you don't believe me have a look at this article on Taikomichi