Memoirs of a Geisha Guy

摘要

Takashitotsuka, 36, is part psychologist, part entertainer, part companion- and full-time businessman. Known to his clients as "Reiji," he is one of thousands of "hosts" who make a living in Japan entertaining women. He may be the most successful in this strange industry, which generates something like $600 million a year just from the 5,000 practitioners con- centrated in Tokyo's Kabukicho district. The Western world's counterpart to this is what we would call a gigolo. In its tamest form the profession includes older men who act as dancing partners and conversationalists on cruise ships, getting free passage in return for entertaining wealthy widows. In Japan hosting makes up a discreet but perfectly legal business that originated in post-World War II dance bars and has origins as distant as 3rd-century A.D. Empress Himiko, who kept 1,000 female attendants and an unknown number of male concubines. Hosting offers the ultimate in customer service- to an almost comical degree of catering to every client whim.