I was browsing through my Top Search Phrases on my Triond Dashboard the other day, when I came upon a curious phrase: clothing for men inspired by samurai. Intrigued, I clicked on the Google search link and came upon a site for Halloween costumes, one of them called the Hot & Spicy Geisha Costume.

Image Source

Do I look like a geisha to you? And would you know the difference?

It’s a pretty sexy getup, with a Japanese katana (sword) and all, but what I find ironic is that it looks more Chinese than Japanese. The outfit is embellished with frog closures, which is found in Chinese clothing, such as the cheongsam or qipao.

Image Source

Example of a Chinese frog closure. Used to fasten a garment closed. 

A geisha is a female Japanese entertainer that wears a traditional kimono. I don’t typically see frog closures on a kimono, which is wrapped around the body and secured with a sash called an obi. The closest thing they have to Chinese frog closures is the Japanese tassel knot. Shown below:

Image via Wikipedia

The tassel knot is a decorative feature on this white wedding kimono. It isn’t a frog closure. 

In the description for the costume, it features a “sexy Eastern-styled top, skirt and choker.” With that in mind, the more appropriate title would have been “Eastern Sexpot” or something similar – making it a generic East Asian-style costume than a Japanese one, since a geisha invokes Japan, at lest to me. Unless geisha is a slang term for any hot Asian chick. There is a possibility this costume was made in China, thus the Chinese frogs. Another is that it was designed by a westerner who doesn’t know the differences in Asian style and design. It should be noted that this is a contemporary interpretation of a “geisha” and not the traditional. 

Below are my two attempts at Fibonacci poetry or Fib, based on the Fibonacci sequence with the syllable count of 1/1/2/3/5/8. Be gentle. This is my first time:

Huh?
What?
Two-piece
Kimono -
Embellished with frogs?
A mishmash of Far East design.

Hot,
Red,
Spicy,
Geisha girl;
Far Eastern beauty,
Admired so for centuries.