A flash of a bright red kimono, and I was face to face with a geisha.

She made eye contact with me, her face perfectly painted white, her eyes outlined in black, her lips a tiny pout of cherry red. She looked like a porcelain doll.

Fresh purple blossoms spilled from her hair. She was stunning. She was wrapped in layers of red silk with an ornate design. In the front, her kimono was tightly crossed and high up. The back was daringly lower, revealing white paint. Her high platform flip-flops clanked on the stone ground as she scurried past me. I turned around, only to see her silhouette in the dim moonlight, a red paper umbrella and the red kimono.

Walking through the Gion district of Kyoto, Japan just before nightfall, I had the rare chance to see a geisha walking to her night's appointment. Gion is the famous entertainment and geisha district on the eastern bank of Kamo-gawa.

For most people, seeing a geisha on a Gion street corner is the closest they will ever get to interacting with one.

Behind the closed doors of the exclusive teahouses and restaurants in Gion, patrons spend more than $3,000 for an evening in the company of two or three geishas.

It is virtually impossible to enter a Gion teahouse and see a geisha performance without seeing a wealthy patron.

I tried looking in the windows of the teahouses, but I couldn't see anything inside except the black velvet tapestries. I came to Kyoto wanting to learn about geishas because I knew they were misunderstood in Western society. I found this was difficult because the world of geishas is completely private.

The only option for both Western and Japanese tourists to learn about geishas is through a tourist-oriented theater that offers public performances of geisha dances. Although not entirely true to the geisha art form, these performances make learning about geishas more accessible.

I had the opportunity to see a geisha perform at Gion Corner, a theater in the heart of Gion. Because of the high price for real shows, there are public performances in Gion theaters that provide cheaper alternatives.

Going to Gion Corner and interacting with various people also gave me an immense amount of information on geishas that debunked much of what I learned through Western culture.

After my experience, I know that geishas have been misunderstood by Westerners because we have nothing like them in Western culture. Most Japanese have never seen, let alone met, a geisha, and have false conceptions about them just like Westerners.

Geishas make their living through social engagements; they entertain clients by telling stories, performing tea ceremonies and performing songs or dances, which they have mastered.

Whether a geisha is participating in a teahouse party or walking along a Gion street, her life is a work of art, including her makeup, dress, conversational skills and how she entertains her clients in general.

In one my favorite books, Arthur Golden's Memoirs of a Geisha, Golden describes geishas as the world's most expensive prostitutes, and the character actually auctions her virginity to the highest bidder.

Golden's depiction was criticized and deemed false by Mineko Iwasaki, author of the autobiographical Geisha, A Life. Golden brought geishas to life for millions of people worldwide, but his story was not completely accurate.

Because of this book, the West believes geishas are considered prostitutes, but I learned at Gion Corner that sex is not part of the agenda.

Geisha connoisseurs look forward to an evening of drinking with congenial companions and are not looking for sex.

Geishas have managed to achieve historical endurance not because they are prostitutes, but because they are desirable and trusted companions for Japanese men.

Sitting in a small theater with about 100 people, I eagerly awaited the geisha's traditional dance performance. Before it began, it was explained what happens during an actual appointment.

Like dinner party hostesses, geishas socialize and pour sake into cups, among other things. Geishas and meikos, or apprentice geishas, take their places on their knees beside each guest and rotate every so often to socialize with them. Their job is to make their customers feel that they are the most attractive men alive. Flirtation is one of the geisha arts.

Once the guests have dined, geishas provide formal entertainment. They play the shamisen and sing. First the meikos dance, then the older geisha demonstrates her dancing ability. Then men then show off their skills on the shamisen, or dance and sing, like a modern-day karaoke show.

A geisha took the stage, one who was equally as stunning as the geisha I saw on the street. She wore a similar kimono, and had pink cherry blossoms in her hair. For the next five minutes, she performed Kyomai, the Kyoto style dance that has been in the geisha routine since the 17th century.

She outstretched her hands and made graceful motions accentuating the nape of her neck and the back of her kimono. She was accompanied by banjo-like sound of the shamisen, her movements perfectly timed to the music. I was in awe of how simple and yet beautiful the dance was. It only lasted a few minutes, but it left me with an impression I will never forget.

Geishas continue to hide behind closed doors, and as a result, the world is fascinated by their mystery.

Although I wasn't able to experience a true encounter with a geisha, the Gion Corner was a great informational experience for me. And after all was said and done, I learned that for better or worse, this tradition is here to stay.