The Changing World of the Modern Geisha

At the peak of their career, they numbered over 80,000 in Japan. Now, boiled down to a number lower than 1,000, the modern geisha has become more a novelty than the once revered and exclusive figures they once were. Largely the result of a 20-year economic slump in Japan, professional geisha, born and raised into the life of servitude, entertainment and feminine grace, have largely become a show for tourists, rather than the companions for the extremely wealthy and powerful in decades and even centuries past.

Al Jazeera reporter Steve Chao reports from Japan on the changing world of the geisha, providing a rare up close and personal look at the life of one of the most mysterious and respected sects of modern first world society.