宮川町

April 20th, 2023: A new maiko has made her debut! Kotono (小との) of Shigemori (しげ森) in Miyagawa Cho is celebrating her misedashi! She is the imōto of Kofuku (小ふく), also of Shigemori, and is already the third maiko to debut from her district this year. Her outfit features a colorful shōchikubai (pine, bamboo, and plum) pattern with a golden karabana and shippō obi ^^ おめでとうさんどす小とのちゃん ^o^! Image is courtesy of My Kyoto Photo who has allowed me to use an exclusive image. 

The Gion Kouta isn’t a trademark of a specific kagai, even though “Gion” is in the title. It refers to the much larger Gion area of Kyoto that actually encompasses Gion Kobu, Gion Higashi, Miyagawa Cho, and Pontocho. Besides that, the following dances are kagai exclusives: Gion Kobu Suzume Odori (すずめ踊り) Pontocho Kamogawa Kouta (鴨川小唄) Kabuki Odori (歌舞伎踊り) Kamishichiken Kitano Kouta (北野小唄) Kitano Yakyoku (北野夜曲) Miyagawa Cho Miyagawa Kouta (宮川小唄) Miyagawa Ondo (宮川音頭) Konchiki Ondo (コンチキ音頭) Gion Higashi Gion Higashi Kouta (祇園東小唄) Komachi Odori (小町通り)

November 13th, 2019: Congratulations to Kanako (叶子) of Kawahisa (川久) in Miyagawa Cho on the occasion of her erikae! Being the most senior maiko in Kyoto her mature look suits that of a geiko so well! She is also the first imōto of Kanachisa (叶千沙) to have an erikae ^^! おめでとうさんどす叶子さん ^o^! Image is courtesy of My Kyoto Photo.

November 7th, 2019: Congratulations on a big day in Miyagawa Cho! Both Kikuyae (菊弥江) of Hanafusa (花ふさ) and Toshiemi (とし恵美) of Komaya (駒屋) celebrated their erikae while Kohatsu (小はつ) and Kotsuru (小つる) of Shigemori (しげ森) celebrated their misedashi! One person celebrating is always wonderful, but doubles are even more rare and highly auspicious! It goes to show how prosperous Miyagawa Cho has been in 2019 with the highest number of overall debuts and will soon have the highest number of erikae ^^ おめでとうさんどす菊弥江さん、とし恵美さん、小はつちゃん、と小つるちゃん ^o^! Images are courtesy of My Kyoto Photo, Komaya Okiya and Ochaya, and Tomoko of Maiko Theatre.

November 3rd, 2019: Three maiko in Miyagawa Cho are about to take the next step in their careers! Kikuyae (菊弥江) (Left), Toshiemi (とし恵美) (Middle), and Kanako (叶子) (Right) are all wearing the sakkō hairstyle ahead of their erikae! Often times it’s rare to see one maiko wearing sakkō in a single kagai, but Miyagawa Cho has shown that 2019 is definitely their year and is proud to promote such hard working women to the title of geiko! Toshiemi and Kikuyae will be the first to turn their collars on November 7th, the same day that two new maiko, Kohatsu and Kotsuru, will be beginning their careers as maiko! Kanako will be following less than two weeks behind ^^ Image is courtesy of Aki Kawamura.

October 31st, 2019: On her last day of being a maiko, Koharu 小はる) of Shigemori (しげ森) in Miyagawa Cho has switched to the sakkō hairstyle! This is to recognize her efforts for being a maiko for six years and to celebrate her retirement in style! The kanzashi that she’s wearing is the same one that her onesan Kofuku wore for her sakkō period back in 2012. Pictured alongside her is the Shigemori’s dog Yuki, who has gained quite a popular Instagram following lately ^^ Congratulations Koharu and the best of luck on your new adventures! Image is courtesy of Yuki Taniguchi.

October 30th, 2019: Toshiemi (とし恵美) of Komaya (駒屋) in Miyagawa Cho has switched to the sakkō hairstyle ahead of her erikae! The highlight of her outfit is definitely her kanzashi, which features a STUNNING golden phoenix! This is definitely one of my favorite designs now ^o^! Her erikae is just over a week away now on November 7th ^^ Images are courtesy of Komaya Okiya and Ochaya. 

Thanks for letting people know ^^!

Images are courtesy of Shigemori Okiya and Ochaya. 

2019 geiko, miyagawacho, Toshimana, maiko, gion kobu, Miwako

2019 geiko, miyagawacho, Toshimana1

2019 geiko, miyagawacho, Toshimana

2019 geiko, miyagawacho, Toshimana

Source: akiko1976 on Instagram