Life Geisha Style

Only Japanese people can join Kyoto's geisha and must give over their whole life to the vocation. KS delves into the secret life of these ladies and explains how you can become geisha for a day.

Wandering along the stony streets of Kyoto, walled in by wooden houses and jumbled stores, you catch the scent of incense on the breeze, and the leaves blush deeply above. A flutter of colour down an alleyway catches your eye, a human butterfly passes through a doorway, framed, then out of sight.

For most people the sight of a geiko or maiko encapsulates the mystery and romance of Japan. Geisha (gei: art skills, sha: person)
is a unisex term, though nowadays geisha are primarily women,
highly trained and skilled in the arts of music, dance, scintillating conversation and entertainment.

She is the ringmaster, the focus of attention, and her customers in turn are where her attentions lay. A customer will never go wanting, will feel they are the funniest, most important and interesting person in the world, and all this with the full confidentiality on the part of their hostess.

There are five geisha districts in Kyoto — Kamishichiken, Miyagawa cho, Pontocho, Gion Kobu, and Gion Higashi-shinchi. Entering into a geisha family (okiya) and moving into a hanamachi (licensed area where geisha and maiko live and entertain) are the first steps into geisha-hood. A young maiko relies on her innocence and looks, where-as an older geiko relies on her experience, artfulness, and charm.

The journey from maiko to geiko is lifelong. A geiko's work is never done She will entertain mostly at night, and during the day will study and practice her way to perfection.

The majority of Japanese people have never entertained the idea of following in these challenging footsteps. For non-Japanese people it isn't an option. Though the enigma and glamour may still be lived out, for a small fee.

Studio Shiki, off Yasaka Street, west of Kiyomizu Temple offers makeover plans and the chance to walk around Kyoto and have your picture taken.

“We see around a hundred people a day, seven days a week,”
says the lovely studio Manager, Saori Ueda. “One-third of which are international visitors.”

She's surrounded by about 20 high school girls from northern Japan, a foreign couple who walked in off the street, and of course
the KS team. Everyone's taking pictures of each other, waiting to be dressed and undressed, and admiring the samples of the studio's professional photos.

“The most popular choice for clients is the Maiko plan. Traditionally maiko are 12 to 20 years old, though we've had 80 year olds enjoying being maiko for a day,” Miss Ueda says smiling. “For couples, the Samurai-Maiko plan is the favourite choice.”

She looks unruffled by the busyness as she explains the studio has been open for about 17 years, and has about the same number of trained staff and staff in training doing makeup, costuming, and working in the on-site photo and picture-development studio “My transformation was an interest-ing experience,” says KS geisha-guinea pig Nadine Olthof. From go to geiko takes around an hour including makeup, hair and dressing.

“I changed into a white yukata before going upstairs and having
my makeup done When my eyes weren't being made-up I watched the other girls going through the different stages; the white foundation, the eyes and eyebrows, and the lips The artists also did the traditional serpents tongue design on the nape of my neck.”

Studio Shiki uses makeup similar to that used for Kabuki actors, and there are more than 100 kimonos available. Kimono are a geiko's livelihood, she will probably have a thousand or more and will usually wear them only once.

“After I was finally dressed in my kimono I felt like a geisha,” says Nadine “It was really restricting and after taking pictures I was happy to take it off and breathe again. But it looked fantastic… for half an hour. I think it's a definite must-do for foreigners before leaving Japan.”

Studio Shiki
351-16 Masuya Cho, Kodaiji, Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto
Z 075-531-2777 (English speaking staff available)
www.maiko-henshin.com

Text & Photos: Jared Olthof
Model: Nadine Olthof • Interpreter: Hiroki Saruta