The Bene Gesserit Seamstresses of the 'Verse
A link kindly provided to me by linaerys about the class conflict in Firefly/Serenity has been eating my brain for the past twenty minutes because, being bored as nuts around work, I am doing nothing but thinking on a plot bunny I plucked from my brain last week and how to work it out. It's not what the article itself talks about that I've been considering
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The bit about the geishas is worth another thousand or so words, but I will attempt to keep it brief. Yes, geishas were entertainers first, and you bought one for an evening that was not meant, usually (from what I understand) to include only yourself. She was to entertain guests, treat them to the very best in music and dance and table/tea service, too, if required.
Sex in Japanese society, however, is exceedingly taboo at the time of the geisha's prominence. Sex was more an unspoken understanding--akin to going to certain types of massage parlors today, if you will--and it was never mentioned or discussed about when you saw a man who had hired a geisha. And, it's important to understand that the geisha were rarely sexually involved with clients as part of their job. The traditional duties were solely related to artistic performance, and there was an acceptance of these powerful, talented women who would then go on to see some clients in a more personal setting. Strictly adhering to the geisha training, a geisha would never sleep with her client. The Western mentality associates any woman willing to entertain (even when that word is used literally) men behind closed doors with a woman who is conveying sexual favors. This is not the case for geisha, even those who then go on to have affairs with current or former clients.
On top of that, you need also consider that women at the height of geishas' popularity were nearly powerless in Japanese society. They were not allowed on stage, were basically wedded servants and mistresses of the household. Being a geisha is an outlet for some of the poorer women to hold some power, whereas in the Firefly 'verse, this male dominance seems to have even less sway than it does in our 21st century, let alone in ancient Japan.
What's most interesting for me with the mention of geishas (which I wouldn't have investigated if you hadn't brought it up, so thank you) is their method of recruitment. It's close to that I postulated for the Guild. A senior geisha would tutor an aspiring girl, who would be taken in and given chores to help offset the cost of her education. Geishas are widely trained from young ages, as are Companions, for many years prior to their service. A system like this, setting up willing, pliable girls and boys would work wonders in building up their confidence and poise prior to introducing to them to turbulent waters of puberty, intimacy, and sex.
Another aspect of geishas which is fascinatingly linked to Companions is the idea of a 'danna.' The danna would support the geisha as something like a sugar daddy might in the Western world, but he would not be able to keep her if he could not afford to keep her in the style of a geisha. Translated for a Companion, that would mean he would have to keep her engaged and entertained and in a style of living to which any Companion could be reasonably expected to be accustomed. It is a business arrangement, wherein the danna would keep a geisha to entertain him, and pay for her services in exclusion of other clients, but one that does not require either sexual favors--an abhorrent thing to ask for upfront, and one not encourage by the geisha code--unlike the 'personal Companion' status Atherton Wing desired from Inara. The concept of a danna keeping a geisha and rich man having a personal Companion are similar up until the sexual act being implied as a given.
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