What role did women play in the arts in Japan? What is significant about this?

At first, even art was something dominated mainly by man in Japan, but things changed little by little.

The word Geiko, or Geisha, means, literally "Art Person".

The geiko, more commonly known as geisha, we woman who were born into the art world. They were, since very little, taught how to sing, dance and even how to play the shamisen, a Japanese musical instrument.

Not only that, they were would also know a lot of poetry, literature, social handling and sado, the tea ceremony.

The work of a geisha was so valued that many man would hire them to be pretty and show off their artistic talents in parties and ceremonies.

Geishas were beautiful to see and also a great sign of ostentation, since a good geisha's company would be very expensive.

It is not incorrect to assume that, somehow, the geishas partially removed man from the art world in a way, when they became common in Japan for the first time, considering that there was a time where their popularity would make them admired and wanted.

As in most Eastern cultures, the cultural role of women in Japanese history is marked by the difference in rights and subaltern position in relation to man. According to the logic confuncionista the woman was assigned to be the leader of the family, taking care of the welfare of the husband and the children. In Buddhism, there is a belief that a woman should be subservient to her husband.

Since World War II, however, many reforms have been introduced in Japan, including essential gender equality. The evolution of the role of women in the Japanese mentality has occurred, although not at the same speed as the West. Every day, Japanese women are given more voice in a society as hierarchical as Japan.