#kikuno

After the release of the 13th book last March, The Ghost of a Crow, Chisato also announced that one more book will be published to complete the Yatagarasu series. One or two more collections of short stories will follow and Yukiya and co. will finally say goodbye from her pen.

The reason is the author will embark on a new project.

Chisato Abe has a new book that will be released at the end of the month.

Titled, “The Green Gem of the Empress,” the blurb and the corresponding synopsis are promising already, with illustrations by Kokuno.

“In this harem, you must not trust anyone.”

Naomi, a young girl, is suddenly invited by the emperor who rules the wind spirits with the words, "Why not try to become my favorite consort?" The emperor's harem includes an empress and concubines, and a necklace adorned with a green gem, resembling the color of the empress's eyes, called the "Empress's Emerald," always glittered on his chest. While questioning why she was chosen, Naomi discovers that the harem harbors a big secret...

The beautiful Dragonfly Emperor, Sirius, from the insect clan, versus the Peacock King, Noah, from the bird clan, and Naomi, the girl, in between.

Naomi, a girl from the northern lands, the realm of the earth spirits. Once left homeless after her house was burned by a fire dragon, she was taken in by the Peacock King and raised as an apprentice to a court lady at the Birdcage Palace, an eastern castle.

We also have Iris, the former wife of the Peacock King, and now the empress, Freya, and Tia. There’s also a eunuch and the educator of the apprentices. If you read their profiles and look at their images, their similarity to the Yatagarasu anime versions are uncanny. But that’s just me. Both the emperor and the king resemble Wakamiya. The characters feel like two halves of him. And then Naomi, who hails from the north, like Yukiya.

Naomi, primarily a feminine name from Hebrew, means pleasant, beautiful or gentle. However, the name is unisex in Japanese, but mostly used by women.

It is also interesting that Chisato relegates the readers once again with a story in a harem. “It is a story filled with things the author loves, written in the way I wanted. I hope it becomes a story that includes ‘love’ not only for myself but also for everyone who reads it.”

Kikuno combing Masuho no Susuki's hair.

I sometimes forget how absurdly long and beautiful her hair is.

I sadly don’t know too much about Nara’s Geimaiko, especially not their history. I know that their kagai is called Ganrinin and that the only okiya left is Tsuruya with the naming-line Kiku- (菊), and that there are two active Geiko, Kikuno and Kikukame, and one active Maiko, Kikue. The two Maiko who debuted last year, Kikukano and Kikufuku, seem to have retired sometime early this year.I have heard people saying that there are five other Geiko active in Nara, but I’ve never seen anything of them before, so I’m not sure.

Their traditions regarding clothing seem to be very similar to that of Kyoto; their Maiko wear the darari obi and wareshinobu or ofuku, and their Geiko seem to wear wigs in the geiko shimada hairstyle, too. As for kanzashi, they seem to be basically the same, too, as far as I can tell. These similarities are probably attributed to the fact that Nara and Kyoto are very close, just about 50 kilometers apart.

What is definitely different from Kyoto is that their Maiko have to have completed high school before debuting, so they are usually 18 years old at the point of their Misedashi, which also makes for shorter apprenticeships. Kikukame was a Maiko for about two years and two months before she had her Erikae. I don’t know what the maximum age is for a girl to have her Erikae in Nara, but I assume it’s similar to that in Kyoto, 20 or 21, maybe 22.

And actually, I don’t think that Nara’s Geisha-community is particularly elusive, at least they aren’t trying to be. Kikuno is well-known for coming up with and hosting many public events accessible to everyone, some even abroad, to revitalize her profession and also attract new applicants. Pictures of them are relatively rare, but that’s normal for most kagai outside of Kyoto, especially such a small one, they just get a lot less attention and media coverage.