9-Nichi-me/Day Nine: Geisha day in Gion


The second day in Kyoto is a trip to the Gion district, a short walk from our hotel, and one of the only places in country that still have genuine working makio and geisha.  Even though I knew about the concept of geisha for some time, it wasn’t until Memoirs of a Geisha, that I became really interested in them.  Geisha are traditionally considered as artists, and not prostitutes as many believe (Prostitute geisha are called onsen geisha to differentiate them from true geisha).  They are usually seen performing dances, and play the shamisen (Musical instrument).  Young girls who would like to become a geisha, start as apprentices, called maiko.  Geisha’s usually perform and entertain in private for men.  After their performance, they sit with their costumes and engage them with conversation or fill their cups with sake.  Hopefully,by the end of the day, I'll know more about geisha from a historical, as well as contemporary perspective.

We’ll start the day by travelling to Fushimi Inari Shrine, whose long tunnel of red torii gates were made famous due to its feature in film Memoirs of a Geisha.  The gates straddle a trail that travels behind the main buildings, leading to sacred Mount Inari.  Irani is the Shinto god of rice, and to pay tribute to the god, there are many fox statues surrounding the shrine since the foxes are Inari’s messengers.


Torii Tunnel 

Entrance of Fushimi Inari Shrine

Next is a trip to Nishijin Textile Center, an area where beautiful fabrics are woven together for kimonos and other traditional Japanese clothing.  Kimono’s are the most iconic Japanese dress, and other then Lisa, none us wore or even seen one in real life.  The center has many activities surrounding Kimonos, the first being to actually try one on.  The women working there can dress us up in either a classic kimono that Geisha where, a 12 layered kimono worn by the women from the imperial court from 1000 years ago, or a contemporary kimono that women today wear to festivals. For myself, I would choose the contemporary kimono which costs 3600 yen/43 CAN.  Classic Geisha kimonos and the 12 layered kimono costs 10 000 yen/119 CAN each.  Next we can go to the shops and buy fabrics, kimonos and/or small woven goods.  All represent the traditional craft pieces that Kyoto is famous for.  The best part of the day at the center is the kimono fashion show (free of charge!)

Kyoto Nishijin Textile Fashion Show


The last place to we head off to is the Gion District, which I mentioned earlier.  The main street of Gion is quiet, lined with higher end restaurants.  This is the one street many tourist stay on, in hopes of viewing a geisha or a maiko on their way to an engagement.  One rule is that, if we do see a geisha on the street,we should not to take a picture.  This would be very rude and is frowned upon in Japanese culture; so we should instead act respectably instead.  


Ichiriki ochaya is one of the only still operating geisha house in Kyoto.  It’s very expensive to get into Ichiriki, up to 6000 dollars per head!  But due to the influx of tourists, hotels are now offering a lunch or dinner package with a maiko for tourists.  To the tourists who don’t want to pay that amount (us!),  the geisha hold a performance at the Gion corner everyday (Gion Corner is 3150 yen/ 37 CAD for admission).  The performances range from tea ceremonies, plays, flower arranging and dances and are geared specially for the foreign tourists.  In April, at the Miyako Odori there are daily dance performances by maiko. 

Maiko dance preformance
Geisha seen on the street of Gion

Source: A Geek in Japan by Hector Garcia Buy Here 
Pictures: Google Images
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