Mylokoville

Sorry for not being too active in the past week! I took part in my local summer matsuri with my book, then I got another shot in my hip, and now I'm preparing for my birthday on Monday! Can you believe that I'm almost a year away from 40? Cripes on a bike! I started this site when I was in my 20s, and I'm so glad that we've gotten to grow together for over 10 (!) years (I was checking a few months ago and I've been active here now since March of 2016)! Thank you everyone for being so awesome! You're under no obligation to do so, but if you'd like to give me a birthday gift I would greatly appreciate birthday wishes or a coffee over on Kofi ^^

Yes, Mamekiyo moved to Ninben to be closer to her onesan, Mamehiro ^^

The white fans are called Uchiwa (団扇), and they're gifts given to establishments and customers of geimaiko during the summer months as a form of advertising ^^

Jimae geiko are requested by her customers, with whom she has built a repertoire with since she was a maiko. Unlike maiko, they have enough customers to sustain them and don't rely on other places to get work from. Many okiya also own ochaya as ochaya are fantastic revenue streams. Their maiko will often be booked there due to proximity, but the geiko are free to be booked anywhere. Not really. If a geiko wants to take time off for something and leave a day open then it's up to her and the customers are none the wiser ^^

Of course! Nishijin ori is a staple of geimaiko attire ^^

Yes, they can still win awards at Shigyōshiki. An erikae has no bearing as the woman would still have been active at the beginning of the year as a maiko and becoming a geiko doesn't change her active status. As for new maiko, it's harder for them to chart during Shigyōshiki since most didn't debut until mid way through the year, but it's not impossible if they work hard and become popular ^^

Sometimes newer geiko opt to wear red juban instead of pink to show that they're still growing (it can also depend on what juban are available if the girl comes from a large okiya) ^^

Yes! Yuzuha is still active and was last seen with her Tama sisters during Hassaku a few weeks ago ^^

Sometimes they do, but most elect to keep them or will give them to a close geiko friend rather than their starting okiya. Mao was also Maya's direct onesan, so it was a nice gesture to give it to her imōto to wear on the day of her erikae ^^

Wearing kuromontsuki shows their dedication to their gei, but I agree that August in Kyoto has never been as hot as it is now. The only time in recent memory that the Gion Kobu girls were allowed to wear casual kimono was during covid, as they didn't want to spread germs with otokoshi going to so many okiya to dress. It's up to the kabukai on whether they'd ever change that tradition, so we'll just have to wait and see if the temperature will play a role in the future ^^

If you're ever curious, check out the "Kanji Of" tabs up top (must be on a desktop to view). The Kanji of Kamishichiken tab will let you know about the seven current maiko that are active there ^^

Yes! Hanako and Kokinu will be having their erikae in autumn and there's still many more debuts to come! As for other kagai, Tomieri in Gion Higashi will be having her erikae prior to the Gion Odori, so please look forward to that ^^!

I believe you're referring to Sansankudo (三々九度). Meaning "Three By Three (Nine) Exchange," it's the ritual exchange of sake cups that binds a geiko and maiko in an onesan/imōto relationship. A set of small cups, followed by medium cups, and then large cups containing a small amount of sake are drank by each participant. This completes the ritual and they are bound in sisterhood ^^

Gion Kobu minarai never wear trailing hikizuri unless they're performing the tea ceremony at the Miyako Odori. Kamishichiken and Miyagawa Cho minarai will wear regular maiko outfits after 3 days while Gion Higashi will wear hikizuri with a handara obi. Pontocho and Gion Kobu will wear minarai kimono, which do not have dragging hems like hikizuri but do have tucks into the short sleeves ^^

You can check out the entire list of Kyoto's ochaya here, which includes Gion Higashi at the bottom. I think you'll recognize many familiar names ^^

Jikata geiko are very elusive and don't usually do many public events, so it's hard to find pictures of them. Since Mahori is now considered one of the senior jikata geiko in Gion Kobu, she doesn't have her picture taken unless it's for an odori, so I really can't help you there, sorry ^^;

Shigemori opened in 2005 with former geimaiko Fukuemi and her mother as its current okasan. Shigemori has a great online presence and is one of the known okiya that will allow girls to apply directly to them instead of going through the Ookini Zaidan. They're quite large and very wealthy, so they can manage many geimaiko at once under their roof ^^