Mizuage: A Raging Debate
A debate rages as to whether the loss of virginity was actually a part of mizuage, an actual historic occurrence, something only done by oiran, or just a dramatic scene concocted for Arthur Golden’s bestselling novel, Memoirs of a Geisha. Former geisha Mineko Iwasaki has denies the loss of virginity during mizuage. Yet Kiyoha Kiritaka claims otherwise. Kiritaka trained as a maiko but left service in 2016 after continuous physical aggression from clients and a ‘mother’ who tried to sell her virginity. Japan outlawed trading coitus for patronage during mizuage in the 1950s, although the rumor is this practice still covertly takes place. The geisha’s secret world is so well concealed that the debate continues. The discussion continues about whether the loss of virginity is fact or fiction driven by Golden’s book and the s*x workers posing as geisha in post- World War II Japan.