Maiko and Geisha
On the walk to Kiyomizu-dera (Kiyomizu Temple), a large crowd was gathered around these two, sitting daintily in a rickshaw (an amazing feat). They were very good about posing for photos.
It’s hard to tell if geisha and maiko outside of Gion’s nightspots are real, as opposed to people who paid to dress up, but I think these two are the real deal.
4 comments
Chidade wrote...
Really? How can you tell?
April Boyd wrote...
Both ladies are wearing wigs. Nearly all wigs have a widows peak in front. Kyoto maiko NEVER wear wigs unless they are in a stage performance. Even maiko with short natural hair can have their own hair styled into wareshinobu.
Next clue is that the kanzashi are dangling. Only 1st year maiko wear this type of kanzashi. 1st year maiko only paint the bottom lip. These ladies have full lips.
Girl in red kimono does not have a full red juban on. If she was 1st year, her juban would be all red.
I took this photo is of Miehina from Miyagawa-cho. She is a second year maiko.
Chidade wrote...
Heh, well I guess it makes sense since they were out in daylight near the most popular temple in Kyoto. I did meet a few real geisha and maiko wandering around Gion at night, but unfortunately I only took one photo and because the flash went off, she looks very washed out.
Thanks for the explanation!
These are fake maiko unfortunately, but still a nice photo.