You call that a maiko/geiko costume? Part 1 : Maiko
This is part 1 of a 2 part series. Part 2 is over here: You call that a maiko/geiko costume? Part 2 : Geiko
I'm one nitpicky girl. And I kind of criticize everything I see, hear, touch, taste, smell, feel... even myself (oh god, I'm my own worst critic). So when it comes to a hobby I have diligently researched about, I CANNOT BEAR when it becomes so BLATANTLY DISRESPECTED by other people (wtf is up with all these bathrobe geisha).
Here's a super short and condensed version of what I know about the karyuukai (flower and willow world) so far.
I've decided to compile a list of TO-DOs for people who want to cosplay as maiko and geiko of Kyoto. The manner of wearing has been established since about Edo period and has not changed much over time, except probably the popular designs and fashions. I will not explain much of the terms because GIYF.
Pictures are from KyotoMaikoCH, Onihide, Kofuji, fuyou-hime, Joi, etc. Flickr people mostly
MAIKO:
Things you need to prepare:
1. RED furisode-length juban. It MUST be red. No other color is acceptable for maiko. Other shades or tints of red are fine, like vermillion ...well, no not really but still acceptable, however it should not be far from the color red, i.e. pink and maroon are not acceptable.
Maiko Kikune and Kikushino of Miyagawa-cho. See the under kimono? It's red right? Maiko do not wear any other color except red for their work clothes.
2. Hikizuri furisode. NO NORMAL FURISODE for maiko-san's working clothes. They wear it trailing, WITH TUCKS on the shoulders and sleeves. Kimono textile and design will also depend on the season.
Maiko Katsuyakko of Gion Kobu. See the tucks on the shoulders and the sleeves? See the trailing skirt? There's also the red juban peeking underneath the bottom part of the hikizuri.
Another reference, maiko Ichino from Pontocho. Here you can clearly see the tuck on her sleeves and the drape of the skirt.
Better photo of the drape on Ayano-san from Gion Kobu (a.k.a. the Tegoshi of Kyoto XD; she's my favorite maiko). She's dancing in this picture.
Maiko Kyoka of Gion Kobu shows us how they hold it when walking down the streets.
Maiko Naokazu from Kamishichiken shows us the other way to keep the hikizuri from getting dirtied on the streets of Kyoto. See that red cloth tied around her waist? She hiked up the skirt off the ground and tied a himo so she can have both her hands free.
3. Obi. DARARI MUSUBI only please. Maiko do not wear their musubi in any other style than darari.
A common site in Gion from around 4~5pm down to probably midnight. It's one of the appeals of Kyoto, the swishing of a maiko's darari obi. In fact, it has been immortalized in the song Gion Kouta.
4. Collar. Maiko wear red embroidered collars
Ro han-eri for junior maiko. Senior maiko will wear completely embroidered haneri in the same part (still red based).
A completely embroidered senior maiko han-eri.
Here's a reference of a junior maiko han-eri vs. senior maiko han-eri worn on maiko themselves:
Ayano-san and Fumino-san are sisters in the okiya (they both live in the Fukushima okiya) but they are not bound as oneesan-imoutosan as Kikuyu and Kikuno are (please watch Becoming Geisha on YouTube). Ayano became senior this year (she's on her 3rd year of training) and Fumino-san debuted as a maiko a few months after she was senior. That picture is from Fumino-san's first Hassaku (2010).
The girls from the Odamoto okiya. The most senior maiko is in front of the line (right most) and the most junior is at the back (left most). Katsuyuki is the most senior, followed by Katsuya, Katsuyakko and finally Momokazu.
5. Obiage and Obijime
Maiko Sayaka of Gion Kobu wears a red obiage. As with the juban, this WILL ALWAYS BE RED even as she graduates to geiko status. It is also tied straight until she is either senior status in Miyagawa-cho or about to graduate to geiko in Gion Kobu. I still have to check with other kagai with their traditions.
Here senior maiko Kikuyu (now geiko) is tying her obiage while Kikune, still a junior in this photo, wears it across her chest. Note that the obijime are wide and have an obidome. Obidome are informal and are not worn during formal events such as Shingyoushiki (New Year), Hassaku and other formal events.
6. Okobo. Maiko wear 11cm okobo when going out.
This is a close-up shot of Fukusuzu's, maiko from Miyagawa-cho, okobo.
However, during rainy season, it is difficult to wear okobo so maiko prefer wearing zori instead.
In this pic, only Fukukimi is wearing okobo. Fukuaya and Fumitama at the back and Fumihana and Kikune in front are all wearing zori. You can also see them clearly in the pic of the Miyagawa-cho girls' obi.
7. Monthly kanzashi. This will depend on a lot of things (age at misedashi, skill, current age, placement in the rankings of the okiya, etc.) but this is the gist of the kanzashi rules.
1st year - cluster of flowers + bridge of small flowers + dangling kanzashi to about chin-length
Fumino of Gion Kobu
2nd year - cluster of small flowers + bridge of small flowers
Fumitama of Miyagawa-cho
3rd year - cluster of 3 medium sized flowers + bridge of small flowers
Ichiteru of Kamishichiken
4th year - cluster of 3 medium sized flowers + kushi
Takasuzu of Gion Kobu
5th year - 1 large flower + kushi
Kofuku of Miyagawa-cho
8. Hairstyle. Maiko go to a nihongami stylist every week to have their hair styled. The general rule is juniors wear wareshinobu, seniors wear ofuku.
Mamehana and Mamesome of Gion Kobu wearing wareshinobu
Gion Kobu's Mamechiho (now a geiko) in ofuku and Mamehana in wareshinobu
Close up of wareshinobu on Fukuai of Miyagawa-cho
Ofuku close-up on Ayano
Other hairstyles:
Ayano wearing Katsuyama for senior maiko worn during the Gion festival only.
Ayano wearing Yakko Shimada. Worn on New Year, Setsubun and Hassaku. In Gion Kobu, this is also worn a few weeks before Sakkou period.
For Setsubun though, senior maiko and all geiko are allowed to do other hairstyles so this is the only time we can see some other crazy hairstyles. Here's Osome on Ayano for this year's Setsubun.
Sakkou is the last hairstyle a maiko wears. They wear it only for a week before their eri-kae. This is Mamechiho photographed on her final week as a maiko.
9. Make-up. Mamechiho, formerly Gion Kobu's number 1 maiko (now geiko) will be the model.
Junior maiko - white face and neck, ONLY THE BOTTOM LIP IS PAINTED IN THEIR FIRST YEAR, pink cheeks, eyes outlined in red and black, eyebrows black with hints of red (you might recognize this as the last picture on the Geisha wiki page). We like to call this "The (In)Famous Rubber Duckie Photo". Spot what's wrong with the picture.
Senior maiko - UPPER LIP PAINTED, less blush than a junior maiko, everything else that a junior maiko puts on her face.
10. Eri-ashi is the same for everyone (maiko and geiko alike)
Nihon ashi for normal days
Maiko Ryouka of Gion Higashi
Maiko Miharu of Gion Higashi
Sanbon ashi for formal occasions - New Year, Hassaku, misedashi, sakkou period, erikae, etc...
Maiko Sakiko of Gion Kobu during Hassaku 2009.
11. CLEAN white tabi. Okiya buy them by the bulk as there's nothing less embarassing as a geiko or maiko with ugly socks.
Normal... Futsu ones like these.
There you have it. I did make a point of having all 5 kagai (hanamachi) represented. Wait, lemme check...
Yup, that's 5. Gion Kobu, Gion Higashi, Pontocho, Miyagawa-cho and Kamishichiken. I had the hardest time looking for appropriate photos of Gion Higashi girls because they're extremely rare (only about a handful) whereas I can easily find Gion Kobu and Miyagawa-cho girls. It doesn't help that my favorite maiko are in Gion Kobu.
Currently, I haven't found a "favorite" from the other kagai yet however, my former favorite, Kikuyu-san was from Miyagawa-cho that's why I'm a bit familiar with that Kagai. I'm beginning to like other kagai for their geiko, especially Kamishichiken's Umeha and Miyagawa-cho's Kikutsuru (okiya oneesan of Kikuyu, Kikune and Kikushino) however Gion Kobu to me remains the most familiar and thus, my favorite.
My current favorite geiko is a toss between Miyagawa-cho's Kikutsuru and Kikuno and Gion Kobu's Mamechiho (who is totally ebiiiiiil osm funny) since my former favorites have quit (Kotoha, Suzuha, etc.) These girls are all tachikata geiko (atm) however I do have one favorite jikata geiko, Mameyoshi of Gion Kobu, who has this wonderful deep husky voice for a member of the karyuukai (they usually have these cutesy voices). I found her when I was looking into Mamechiho-san's videos coz she usually the one sings and plays the shamisen for Mamechiho-san's ozashiki.
And CLEARLY, my favorite maiko is Ayano-san of Gion Kobu (there's another Ayano-san from Pontocho, different kanji). She's originally from Tokyo and entered the karyuukai when she was 16 (she quit school during her 2nd year of senior highschool, I think) and debuted when she was 17. She's like the cutest thing EVER. I call her the Tegoshi Yuya of Kyoto. Coincidentally, Tego's attitude is like Mamechiho-san's: loves to play pranks, Do S-ish, but is so adorable that she charms the pants off people. Ayano-san is just as charming. She did attempt to speak English at an ozashiki and it was funny and cute, I totally died of cuteness overload.
My second favorite would be the maiko Kyoka who totally looks like A DOLL. She looks really cool and mysterious and kind of snotty but she's really shy and cute. My third favorite is between Kyoka-san's oneesan in the okiya, Sayaka-san (who might debut next year), Mamechiho-san's imouto (in the okiya who will debut as a geiko at the end of November) Mamehana-san and Ayano-san's imouto in the okiya, Fumino-san. I hope they all graduate to geiko status and not quit so fast.
Go on to read part 2: You call that a maiko/geiko costume? Part 2 : Geiko
I'm one nitpicky girl. And I kind of criticize everything I see, hear, touch, taste, smell, feel... even myself (oh god, I'm my own worst critic). So when it comes to a hobby I have diligently researched about, I CANNOT BEAR when it becomes so BLATANTLY DISRESPECTED by other people (wtf is up with all these bathrobe geisha).
Here's a super short and condensed version of what I know about the karyuukai (flower and willow world) so far.
I've decided to compile a list of TO-DOs for people who want to cosplay as maiko and geiko of Kyoto. The manner of wearing has been established since about Edo period and has not changed much over time, except probably the popular designs and fashions. I will not explain much of the terms because GIYF.
Pictures are from KyotoMaikoCH, Onihide, Kofuji, fuyou-hime, Joi, etc. Flickr people mostly
MAIKO:
Things you need to prepare:
1. RED furisode-length juban. It MUST be red. No other color is acceptable for maiko. Other shades or tints of red are fine, like vermillion ...well, no not really but still acceptable, however it should not be far from the color red, i.e. pink and maroon are not acceptable.
Maiko Kikune and Kikushino of Miyagawa-cho. See the under kimono? It's red right? Maiko do not wear any other color except red for their work clothes.
2. Hikizuri furisode. NO NORMAL FURISODE for maiko-san's working clothes. They wear it trailing, WITH TUCKS on the shoulders and sleeves. Kimono textile and design will also depend on the season.
Maiko Katsuyakko of Gion Kobu. See the tucks on the shoulders and the sleeves? See the trailing skirt? There's also the red juban peeking underneath the bottom part of the hikizuri.
Another reference, maiko Ichino from Pontocho. Here you can clearly see the tuck on her sleeves and the drape of the skirt.
Better photo of the drape on Ayano-san from Gion Kobu (a.k.a. the Tegoshi of Kyoto XD; she's my favorite maiko). She's dancing in this picture.
Maiko Kyoka of Gion Kobu shows us how they hold it when walking down the streets.
Maiko Naokazu from Kamishichiken shows us the other way to keep the hikizuri from getting dirtied on the streets of Kyoto. See that red cloth tied around her waist? She hiked up the skirt off the ground and tied a himo so she can have both her hands free.
3. Obi. DARARI MUSUBI only please. Maiko do not wear their musubi in any other style than darari.
A common site in Gion from around 4~5pm down to probably midnight. It's one of the appeals of Kyoto, the swishing of a maiko's darari obi. In fact, it has been immortalized in the song Gion Kouta.
4. Collar. Maiko wear red embroidered collars
Ro han-eri for junior maiko. Senior maiko will wear completely embroidered haneri in the same part (still red based).
A completely embroidered senior maiko han-eri.
Here's a reference of a junior maiko han-eri vs. senior maiko han-eri worn on maiko themselves:
Ayano-san and Fumino-san are sisters in the okiya (they both live in the Fukushima okiya) but they are not bound as oneesan-imoutosan as Kikuyu and Kikuno are (please watch Becoming Geisha on YouTube). Ayano became senior this year (she's on her 3rd year of training) and Fumino-san debuted as a maiko a few months after she was senior. That picture is from Fumino-san's first Hassaku (2010).
The girls from the Odamoto okiya. The most senior maiko is in front of the line (right most) and the most junior is at the back (left most). Katsuyuki is the most senior, followed by Katsuya, Katsuyakko and finally Momokazu.
5. Obiage and Obijime
Maiko Sayaka of Gion Kobu wears a red obiage. As with the juban, this WILL ALWAYS BE RED even as she graduates to geiko status. It is also tied straight until she is either senior status in Miyagawa-cho or about to graduate to geiko in Gion Kobu. I still have to check with other kagai with their traditions.
Here senior maiko Kikuyu (now geiko) is tying her obiage while Kikune, still a junior in this photo, wears it across her chest. Note that the obijime are wide and have an obidome. Obidome are informal and are not worn during formal events such as Shingyoushiki (New Year), Hassaku and other formal events.
6. Okobo. Maiko wear 11cm okobo when going out.
This is a close-up shot of Fukusuzu's, maiko from Miyagawa-cho, okobo.
However, during rainy season, it is difficult to wear okobo so maiko prefer wearing zori instead.
In this pic, only Fukukimi is wearing okobo. Fukuaya and Fumitama at the back and Fumihana and Kikune in front are all wearing zori. You can also see them clearly in the pic of the Miyagawa-cho girls' obi.
7. Monthly kanzashi. This will depend on a lot of things (age at misedashi, skill, current age, placement in the rankings of the okiya, etc.) but this is the gist of the kanzashi rules.
1st year - cluster of flowers + bridge of small flowers + dangling kanzashi to about chin-length
Fumino of Gion Kobu
2nd year - cluster of small flowers + bridge of small flowers
Fumitama of Miyagawa-cho
3rd year - cluster of 3 medium sized flowers + bridge of small flowers
Ichiteru of Kamishichiken
4th year - cluster of 3 medium sized flowers + kushi
Takasuzu of Gion Kobu
5th year - 1 large flower + kushi
Kofuku of Miyagawa-cho
8. Hairstyle. Maiko go to a nihongami stylist every week to have their hair styled. The general rule is juniors wear wareshinobu, seniors wear ofuku.
Mamehana and Mamesome of Gion Kobu wearing wareshinobu
Gion Kobu's Mamechiho (now a geiko) in ofuku and Mamehana in wareshinobu
Close up of wareshinobu on Fukuai of Miyagawa-cho
Ofuku close-up on Ayano
Other hairstyles:
Ayano wearing Katsuyama for senior maiko worn during the Gion festival only.
Ayano wearing Yakko Shimada. Worn on New Year, Setsubun and Hassaku. In Gion Kobu, this is also worn a few weeks before Sakkou period.
For Setsubun though, senior maiko and all geiko are allowed to do other hairstyles so this is the only time we can see some other crazy hairstyles. Here's Osome on Ayano for this year's Setsubun.
Sakkou is the last hairstyle a maiko wears. They wear it only for a week before their eri-kae. This is Mamechiho photographed on her final week as a maiko.
9. Make-up. Mamechiho, formerly Gion Kobu's number 1 maiko (now geiko) will be the model.
Junior maiko - white face and neck, ONLY THE BOTTOM LIP IS PAINTED IN THEIR FIRST YEAR, pink cheeks, eyes outlined in red and black, eyebrows black with hints of red (you might recognize this as the last picture on the Geisha wiki page). We like to call this "The (In)Famous Rubber Duckie Photo". Spot what's wrong with the picture.
Senior maiko - UPPER LIP PAINTED, less blush than a junior maiko, everything else that a junior maiko puts on her face.
10. Eri-ashi is the same for everyone (maiko and geiko alike)
Nihon ashi for normal days
Maiko Ryouka of Gion Higashi
Maiko Miharu of Gion Higashi
Sanbon ashi for formal occasions - New Year, Hassaku, misedashi, sakkou period, erikae, etc...
Maiko Sakiko of Gion Kobu during Hassaku 2009.
11. CLEAN white tabi. Okiya buy them by the bulk as there's nothing less embarassing as a geiko or maiko with ugly socks.
Normal... Futsu ones like these.
There you have it. I did make a point of having all 5 kagai (hanamachi) represented. Wait, lemme check...
Yup, that's 5. Gion Kobu, Gion Higashi, Pontocho, Miyagawa-cho and Kamishichiken. I had the hardest time looking for appropriate photos of Gion Higashi girls because they're extremely rare (only about a handful) whereas I can easily find Gion Kobu and Miyagawa-cho girls. It doesn't help that my favorite maiko are in Gion Kobu.
Currently, I haven't found a "favorite" from the other kagai yet however, my former favorite, Kikuyu-san was from Miyagawa-cho that's why I'm a bit familiar with that Kagai. I'm beginning to like other kagai for their geiko, especially Kamishichiken's Umeha and Miyagawa-cho's Kikutsuru (okiya oneesan of Kikuyu, Kikune and Kikushino) however Gion Kobu to me remains the most familiar and thus, my favorite.
My current favorite geiko is a toss between Miyagawa-cho's Kikutsuru and Kikuno and Gion Kobu's Mamechiho (who is totally ebiiiiiil osm funny) since my former favorites have quit (Kotoha, Suzuha, etc.) These girls are all tachikata geiko (atm) however I do have one favorite jikata geiko, Mameyoshi of Gion Kobu, who has this wonderful deep husky voice for a member of the karyuukai (they usually have these cutesy voices). I found her when I was looking into Mamechiho-san's videos coz she usually the one sings and plays the shamisen for Mamechiho-san's ozashiki.
And CLEARLY, my favorite maiko is Ayano-san of Gion Kobu (there's another Ayano-san from Pontocho, different kanji). She's originally from Tokyo and entered the karyuukai when she was 16 (she quit school during her 2nd year of senior highschool, I think) and debuted when she was 17. She's like the cutest thing EVER. I call her the Tegoshi Yuya of Kyoto. Coincidentally, Tego's attitude is like Mamechiho-san's: loves to play pranks, Do S-ish, but is so adorable that she charms the pants off people. Ayano-san is just as charming. She did attempt to speak English at an ozashiki and it was funny and cute, I totally died of cuteness overload.
My second favorite would be the maiko Kyoka who totally looks like A DOLL. She looks really cool and mysterious and kind of snotty but she's really shy and cute. My third favorite is between Kyoka-san's oneesan in the okiya, Sayaka-san (who might debut next year), Mamechiho-san's imouto (in the okiya who will debut as a geiko at the end of November) Mamehana-san and Ayano-san's imouto in the okiya, Fumino-san. I hope they all graduate to geiko status and not quit so fast.
Go on to read part 2: You call that a maiko/geiko costume? Part 2 : Geiko