I'm not sure when it was that Asian chicken salad, sushi, and Zen first came into vogue, but the trend appears to have struck a new low. Case in point: Hollywood's "Geisha House," a pricy restaurant and nightclub that has vastly increased Hollywood Boulevard's hip factor.
Living in the neighborhood I wondered what went on behind those windowless neon-pink walls. Coming back from the parking garage one night, I slipped past the red curtain covering the doorway. The website told me that my experience would be "Sensuous... Ethereal... Mysterious."
Here is the full description: "A combination of five star sushi restaurant set in the atmosphere of a surreal high class brothel, the goal of Geisha House is to make the client climax. Geisha House provides the vibe, the music, and the intoxicating tones necessary to create sensuality through taste, touch, smell, and complete stimulation." It continues: "Geisha girls, seared albacore, Sake-Infused Martinis, Kamasutra...all lead to one thing...a happy ending. This is sex...This is Geisha House."
Sex sells, but a Japanese restaurant that blatantly advertises sex with geishas? A shameful case of lost-in-translation. It's not so out of place next to retailers with thigh-high plastic boots and other downright tawdry garments on Hollywood Blvd., but Geisha House represents the height of absurd consumption. The image above is from a box of matches I picked up. A girl's red lips market her vulnerable, exotic beauty.
In this twisted world she's just a thing. You light her like a match and toss her away.
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