Maiko vayama biography of george

"Maiko" and "geisha" are professions with a 300-year history in Kyoto since the Edo period, but their actual nature is not well-known overseas.

I think many people learned about their existence through the Hollywood movie "Memoirs of a Geisha," but from my perspective as a Japanese person, I honestly felt it was quite dramatized.

The common misconception of "maiko and geisha = prostitutes" is a misunderstanding.

In reality, they are traditional performers primarily focused on artistic skills. After I actually met a maiko at a ryotei in Kyoto's Gion district, I became very interested in their deep culture and daily lives.

Maiko might seem like a form of entertainment or show, but in reality, it's a prestigious profession that inherits traditional performing arts and devotes itself to daily training.

In this article, I'll share about the culture of maiko from a Japanese perspective.

Also, in Kyoto,