#sashigami

With the odori and debut seasons coming to a close the karyukai will be a bit more quiet for the next few months. I’ll still be posting about what goes on, but don’t expect too much ^^ Karyukai News -Koume (小梅) of Kaden (花傳) in Miyagawa Cho had her erikae on Thursday (November 9th). -The Gion Odori (祇園をどり) in Gion Higashi concluded on Friday (November 10th). -Ichiyū (市結) of Katsumi (勝見) in Pontocho has switched to the ofuku style and is now a senior! Blog News -What’s In a Dance? Part 6 looked at Natsu Wa Hotaru (夏は蛍) - Summer Fireflies. -The Random Fact of The Week looked at Hiki Iwai Sashigami. -Mylo’s Pick of The Week went to Fukukana (ふく香奈) of Kawayoshi (河よ志) in Miyagawa Cho. -Some of you may not be receiving my posts if you’re on mobile due to a feature that Tumblr silently added called “Best Stuff First.” You can check out more about it and how to turn it off here. -Thank you to everyone who sent in their questions once again this week! The listing of popular posts seems to have gotten some good feedback, so I’ll continue doing that in this space from now on! Popular posts of the week include: -How much income does a maiko or geiko get to keep? -Are maiko always out in full regalia and can a customer invite them anywhere? -How many times can a kimono be worn by geimaiko before it’s considered “uncool”? -What are some rules that all maiko and geiko need to follow in the karyukai? -What’s in a kitsuke kit for kimono? -Can you tell us about Mamehiro of Ninben? -How would oiran/tayū/yūjo meet their customers for the first time? -What are the origins of geisha? -On average, how long does it take to become jimae? -How do girls apply to become maiko and geiko?

Not sure what to file this under, but I thought that it was interesting (and it probably should be on a tab somewhere): The sashigami given out at a hiki iwai contains both the woman’s geimei and her real name. This is a way to show people the name the woman will once again go by in the outside world and affirming her place in the history of the kagai; that is, should her geimei be reused people will know which holder of the name she was (first, second, third, etc.). You can see some examples of the hiki iwai sashigami here ^^

I often dig through the internet to find information that can fill voids in knowledge (especially for the Sister’s tab) and today revealed a surprising nugget of information! Former geiko Kikue (菊栄) of Kamishichiken owns a restaurant now, and on her page she happened to upload an image from the early 2000s that show the sashigami of Katsuya, Katsue, Umeha, and Satoyu for their misedashi. What’s interesting is that the onesan for both Katsuya and Katsue are noted, and it’s none other than the legendary Katsukiyo! We know that Katsukiyo was onesan to Daimonji girls in the 1970s and 1980s, but no one knew that she was still performing that role as recently as 2003. This is a great find and I hope that this can help to piece together more links in the future ^^