When they walk (or even run) between the teahouses from one engagement to another, the clock is ticking. Superata explains, “Geiko and maiko are not allowed to stop for photos when they’re still in the middle of their working shift.

It might be questionable to swarm around such young girls, invade their private space or stalk them at night just to get a blurry photograph for our social media account.” Both domestic as well as international tourists have chased, stopped, swarmed and even pulled on the expensive kimono of maiko and geiko as they are on their way to appointments – all in order to snap a picture with them. Pair the widespread fascination with maiko and geiko and the huge influx of international tourists to Kyoto and encounters between the public and the entertainers have become increasingly troublesome. Some tourists pay a considerable sum for a maiko “makeover” by one of multiple henshin studios chances are if you see a maiko leisurely strolling Gion’s streets during the day, especially those that happily stop for photographs, it’s most likely a tourist.Īt around 5:45pm, maiko make their way through Gion’s alleys like elegant butterflies on their way to appointments at some of Kyoto’s most exclusive teahouses. Unlike geiko, maiko must use their own hair for the elaborate hairstyles (there are several depending on their age and stage of apprenticeship), which are set once a week at the hairdresser. Those not from Kyoto are also expected to master the Kyoto dialect. They spend their days learning the shamisen, dances and classical Japanese arts such as tea ceremony and flower arranging, and their evenings performing and entertaining. All the maiko and geiko belonging to that okiya have similar names, as a maiko’s name is taken in part from her geiko sister.įor the young women training as maiko, the hours are long and there is little privacy or downtime. Any money made is turned over to the okiya mother, who controls the finances and all the expensive kimono, hair ornaments, and accessories that maiko wear. Usually, these ladies come from different parts of Japan, graduate junior high school and arrive to Kyoto at the age of 15 to start their geiko training.” Maiko are trained for around five years by their okiya mother and a more senior geiko. Superata says, “Nowadays, there are not too many geiko born in Kyoto. Prior to World War II, geiko in Kyoto numbered around 80,000, whereas today it is estimated there are only around 300 maiko and geiko working in Kyoto’s five hanamachi (geisha districts). Kyoto is one of the last strongholds of geisha culture in Japan. So mysterious, in fact, that it’s easy to forget that, despite their extraordinary experience, “geiko and maiko are just normal hard-working women with good and bad days, exhaustion, and a variety of emotions.” With this in mind, says Superata, her mission is to “enhance their humanity.” The Daily Life of Maiko and Geiko in Kyoto “This profession has been a mystery for many years.” “Tourists, not only foreigners but Japanese as well, are hypnotized by the geisha of Kyoto,” says Maria Superata, a Kyoto-based interpreter and founder of the GeishaKai blog.

My imagination was immediately captured by the mysterious and alluring image of maiko and geiko (full-fledged Kyoto geisha). Wandering the nearly deserted alleys of nighttime Gion, I caught tantalizing snippets of koto music and glimpses of proprietresses in gorgeous kimonos through the lattices, with the telltale tall okobo shoes of maiko (apprentice geisha) lined up neatly inside. Rewind to Christmas Eve, 2010 – my very first visit to Kyoto.

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