Japanese Jewels: A Stunning Performance by Maiko in Kyoto

As strange to me as a rare bird, precious and mysterious. Doll-like, she silently entered our hosted dinner in the Gion area of Kyoto and turned so that we could admire the lavish, shimmering brocade of her kimono.

Her kimono weighs over twenty pounds. She is rigorously corseted into her garments which require a man’s strength to tighten.

Her voluminous obi cinched a tiny waist. She was regal yet delicate and moved with uncanny grace. Only her lower lip was painted, the indication of a maiko or geisha in training.

The history of a geisha’s iconic makeup goes back to the Heian Period (794-1185) where nobility wore the white paste in front of the emperor so that their faces would stand out in the candlelight. 

One of the last centers of geisha culture in Japan, estimates number only about 300 working geiko and their apprentice maiko women in Kyoto’s five hanamachi or geisha districts. This compared to the early 1940’s when they numbered over 80,000.

Her life is rigidly supervised by her okiya mother, her trainer and guardian. A house mother of sorts. Interested teens come from different parts of Japan, usually beginning training at the age of 15 and spend the next five years learning the classical Japanese arts of musical performance, dance, floral arrangement, calligraphy, ceremonial tea service as well as conversation. The hours are long, arduous and the discipline demanding.

Maiko must use their own hair for the elaborate hairstyles requiring internal bamboo scaffolding with batting adding volume beneath the lacquer and ornamentation. As it must last for a week, they rest their neck on a raised stand to sleep.

If they marry, the geisha must leave the profession but are allowed to have boyfriends once they have completed training and turn 21. Once a geisha, a woman may perform as long as she wishes…the oldest working geisha today is 92.

We were allowed to take pictures with our maiko performer as this was a ticketed performance and she was compensated by our tour company.

Payments must be turned over to her okiya mother who pays for her schooling, her lavish wardrobe, elaborate hairstylings and ornamentation. She earns her own money as a professional only after training is completed.

 All these skills, along with their impeccable and unforgettable appearance, make a geisha the most highly respected class of artists in Japan.