Category: Maiko & Geiko
January 2020 – Maiko & Momiji
The following photos were made during three public photoshoots organized in Kyoto during the Fall (2018 and 2019). The theme is always “Maiko & Momiji”. The photos were taken at the Chishakuin Temple, the National Museum and the Shôsei-en Garden, with groups of five geimaiko.
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Award Finalist!
Weather Photographer of the Year 2019 Photo Contest – Shortlisted!
I have just received the following message from the Royal Meteorological Society in London! What a surprise and what an honor!
Dear WPotY 2019 Entrant,
I would like to inform and congratulate you on being selected for our Weather Photographer of the Year 2019 shortlist!
Chishakuin Prize! (February 2019)
Once again, I am honored to have one of my photos prized (Chishakuin Prize) at the 13th PPK’s Maiko and Momiji Photo Contest. In November 2018, the photo shoot took place in the large and beautiful ChishakuIn Temple located in the Higashiyama district in Kyoto…
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Portrait of Maiko Kikuyae
Portrait of the beautiful Maiko Kikuyae (Hanafusa Okiya) of Miyagawa-Cho
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Heian Jingu Shrine Reisai Annual Festival
This is the most important annual event of the Heian Jingu Shrine. It is meant to celebrate the accession ceremony day held in 781 of Emperor Kanmu who is the deity of the shrine.
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Hatsuyori in Gion Kobu
On January 13th, all the Maiko and Geiko of the Gion Kobu Hanamachi (flower town or geisha district) visit the house of their teacher, Yachiyo Inoue, the master of Gion Kobu’s dance school, the Inoue School of Dance, to thank her for her service and present their best wishes for the New Year.
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Tea Ceremony in Kamishichiken
The Japanese Tea Ceremony or “Way of Tea” (Chado or sado, as the ceremony is known) is one of Japan’s best-known traditional cultural practices, and something everyone can and should experience while in Kyoto. Yes, Kyoto is where the tea ceremony was born and remains its spiritual heart.
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Maiko by night
In winter, it is already the night and dark when the maiko leave their “okiya” (the geisha house where they live) to go to meet their patrons for the evening. I like this opportunity for night photography and all the challenges this implies.
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Misedashi in Miyagawa-Cho
December 14th was the day of Maiko Kimimoe Misedashi in the Miyagawa-Cho Hanamachi or Geisha District. The “Misedashi” ceremony is the official debut of a girl as a Maiko (apprentice geisha).
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Before the “Erikae”
I was quite lucky to be able to capture this photo of Maiko Koume wearing the Sakkô hairstyle and a formal black kimono. Together, these are signs that she’s about to become a Geiko.
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