There hasn't been a new discussion in a while, so I thought I'd bring one up. I've been wondering lately how often geisha end up with liver damage and potentially needing transplants or dying from liver damage. Considering how much they drink, I would think the question comes up in their mind, but I can't find any texts that state whether or not it's important to them. What does everyone else think?

I think they are ok . Maybe, their livers are a little harder becouse of alcohol; but there are a lot of alcoholics without any liver's transplantations.

It's possible it could happen if the Geisha was a hard drinker. But having a few drinks isn't going to cause severe liver damage. I'm sure she can pass up the drinks if she doesn't want them. They are after all entertainers not just drinking buddies.

I just wonder at what that can do on a nightly basis. If just a few drinks are taken every night starting when a girl is in her teens, it sounds like it could add up by the time she's in her forties or fifties. I've also heard talks of how many girls are driven to excessive drinking because they couldn't refuse drinks from oneesan or important guests.

It's just something I've been wondering about.

there was one interview with Tokyo geisha about their health. they say that now that they are working less (due to less customers) they are in a much better health. less drinking and more sleep is very good for being healthy.

i am sure drinking much at ozashikis in the long run is quite bad for them and i am sure, for some it turns into alcoholism, especially if you start young. That part of their lifestyle might be one very important reason why many quit after some years. they just can't do it anymore...

i think in the long term after so many years of drinking every night it would add up. but i would think most of them would be alright, seeing as their bodies would grow used to it almost after a while. and they are able to accept and decline drinks so it shouldn't be horrible..

Well, what originally got me on the subject was because I've heard of cases inside the geisha world and outside where people weren't allowed to refuse drinks. There is a form of harrassment in the Japanese work place called 'Alcohol Harrassment' that has to do when superiors will keep offering drinks after hours or on company trips to subordinates until the subordinates become sick or pass out. The reason they just don't refuse is because it's unnaccepable behavior to refuse a drink from someone of superior station, whether or not they can't take another drink.

Now, I don't think there's alcohol harrassment in the geisha world, but I've read how maiko and geiko were not always allowed to say no to a drink, or how they had to take drinks for older geiko who had medical problems. Kikuno mentioned in the BBC documentary that her oneesan kept making her drink wine to the point that she returned home blitzed that night and couldn't remember anything afterwards.

So, I wonder at how often maiko and geiko return home in that sort of situation. Casual drinks might not do too much damage, but someone who spent years taking in large amounts of alcohol might be doing serious damage.

i wondered about this too - but more about the aspect of alcoholism than the one of health problems in first case. of course health problems are a caused by alcoholism.

do you know if maiko under 18 years are not allowed to drink, till they are 18? or what is the law in japan?

One also needs to consider what the Geisha are drinking. Beer is more often than not what Geisha are drinking, with some sake for the games, and the Geisha usually never lose, so the Geisha don't drink so much sake, but more beer and the glasses they drink from are small, not like swigging down bottle after bottle, which yes, surely would cause damage after awhile. I think, if I remember right, a person's liver is able to metabolize and neutralize the content of alcohol equivalent to bottle of beer every one to two hours without any lasting damage. So, we're not talking about hard alcohol, because if you ask me, sake really isn't that strong. Also, if I understand it right, yes, it's rude to refuse a drink, but I don't think it matters how fast a girl drinks her beer. I think, if I remember right, that, in terms of manners, if her glass is empty, then it's refilled, long as it's not, then she's fine. It's not like buying the bartender a drink, it's refilling of everyone's glass, and I believe there's a stigma on someone that fills their own glass. . . Ah, just thoughts of mine. XD

I'm certainly sure there are and have been alcoholic Geiko and those who have suffered liver damage, but surely if it was a major thing, we'd be aware of it, at least I'd think! XD

in japan the legal age is 20 but i agree with tsu-san.. the glases are small and for the games like she said , they hardly ever lose. so i don't think sake is a real problem...

thank you for that information toshiteru-san.
so, if the legal age is 20, do maiko drink beer? they are usually under 20, to be honest, i wouldn't like it, if the girls have to drink even if they are not allowed by law and i am pretty sure, that they drink beer and/or sake.

well yes, there is a little underaged drinking in their world...>.> <.< but yeah they do, but you would figure that if they really didn't want to they could refuse politely..

actually i don't think, that would be a very popular maiko, saying "oh sorry, i start drinking in 3 years." so, what can they do? nothing. maybe you could say, it's part of their profession, but that's only half the truth.

Hardly anyone cards in Japan. In my entire stay here, I've only been carded once, and that was because I was with a friend who looks like she could be ten (she was of age, though). So, in other words, you really do have to look like a child to be carded, otherwise no once cares if you're drinking or not. I mean, they have alcohol in vending machines here, clearly they aren't trying that hard to keep alcohol away from minors.

There are some systems to try an enforce controls even in vending machines (I saw a documentary about a face recognition system taht was trying to guess if you're underage by the relative size and position of facial features Not sure if it is in activity anywhere or just stayed a prototype). But I think it is first aimed at tobacco, which may be killing much more people than alcohol.

They are reinforcing controls, though. But they might not care so much about foreigners, as long as there is no much chance they would cause trouble for the restaurant/bar/convenience store...

I heard recently that there actually was a tolerance for maiko drinking in Kyoto, probably in one of the interviews or documentaries I saw on Youtube recently.