ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, August 20, 1996 TAG: 9608200069
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: TOKYO
TYPE: NEWS OBIT
SOURCE: Associated Press
Japan's oldest geisha, who practiced the revered and often misunderstood artistic tradition for 90 years, has died of kidney failure. Tsutakiyokomatsu Asaji was 102.
Her family said she died Sunday at a Tokyo hospital.
Asaji performed the refined songs and dances of the geisha up until April, when ill health forced her retirement.
Her customers over the years came from the top ranks of Japan's politicians and business leaders.
Geisha - which literally means ``arts person'' - are often mistakenly presumed, especially by Westerners, to be prostitutes. Although some do develop intimate relationships with customers who become their patrons, the profession has a rigorous and centuries-old etiquette.
Although a skilled geisha can have a lifelong career, as Asaji did, the number of what purists consider true practitioners declined with the emergence of Western-style hostess bars.
Geisha skills - music, dance, smiles, charming conversation and the serving of sake - can be pricey. An evening's fee for a geisha party can easily run into the thousands of dollars.
Japan's long recession put a damper on such lavish business entertainment.
At the same time, mores began to change. Former Prime Minister Sosuke Uno resigned in 1989 over a scandal involving his geisha mistress.
Born Haru Kato, Asaji entered Japan's entertainment world as an 11-year-old apprentice in 1905.
Five years later, she made her debut as a professional geisha in Tokyo's Yanagibashi district, where she remained until the end of her career.
She was known as a master of ``okiwazu bushi,'' a Japanese traditional song featured in Kabuki plays. She won a cultural award in 1989, and published an autobiography two years ago.
Asaji is survived by a daughter, Kinuko. Her funeral is scheduled for Thursday.
LENGTH: Short : 47 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: (headshot) Asajiby CNB