Maiko Show

Last Friday my landlord took my roommates and I to see a Maiko performance at a hotel in Kyoto. It was a very brief, yet entertaining show that probably catered to the hotel guests as it was free. Before the show we had a photo op to take pictures while the Maiko sat in front of a little tea table. It was kind of awkward taking pictures with the Maiko because nobody really talked to her, they kind of just sat next to her and she made a very small smile and then they left because the line was so long to take a picture with her. She also had a funny smile and very white makeup which made her look over-exposed in a lot of the pictures I took.

My housemates and I with the Maiko-san

I should probably explain what a Maiko is first. According to my landlord, Mr. Kajiwara, Maiko are only found in Kyoto and they are young girls usually from age 17 who are basically geisha in training. When they grow older and more skilled and find a supporting patron, the Maiko become geisha. As many of my readers hopefully already know, geisha and Maiko are NOT prostitutes.

A Maiko dance

After the photos, we all went outside to sit next to a pond with a stage in it. Thankfully there were some space heaters nearby because it was pretty chilly outside. While we were waiting for the Maiko show to start, I watched two sleeping swans float around the pond. After a few moments the Maiko came out and started dancing on the stage with some fans. I'm not sure what the song was about, but it looked like the Maiko was sometimes using her fans as a kind of umbrella and she sometimes tossed them up in the air. The next song was apparently a pretty popular old Kyoto song because some of the old Japanese women watching started to sing along. I couldn't understand a word of it, but the Maiko's dance was pretty nice. At the end of the show she took a basket from off-stage and knelt down to feed the swans who were stirred from their slumber by the sound of the Maiko's dancing. It made for a classic photo op.

Maiko-san feeding the swans