The beautiful Maiko 舞妓 is an apprentice geisha in western Japan, usually in the Kyoto area. It can be difficult for a non-Japanese to differentiate between a Maiko and Geisha, see JapanseseSearch.com’s post on how to tell here. Their jobs consist of performing songs, dances, and playing the shamisen which is a three-stringed Japanese instrument for visitors during feasts. Maiko are usually aged 15 to 20 years old and become geisha after learning how to dance (a kind of Japanese traditional dance), play the shamisen, and learning Kyō-kotoba (dialect of Kyoto), regardless of their origins.
Enjoy the pictures!
Maiko Show – Gion – Tokyo – Japan (photo: PaulSchliebs/flickr)
Maiko of Gion, Kyoto (photo: zoonyzoozoodazoo/flickr)
Maiko Kyoto (photo: thibault.deckers/flickr)
Maiko dance for Setsubun at Yasaka 2014 (photo: rverscha/flickr)
Maiko dance for Setsubun at Yasaka 2014 II (photo: rverscha/flickr)
Maiko laughing and dance for Setsubun at Yasaka 2014 (photo: rverscha/flickr)
Maiko dance for Setsubun at Yasaka 2014 IV (photo: rverscha/flickr)
Kyoto Maiko at Kenniji (photo: randomwire/flickr)
Maiko on her way home after practising for the Kitano Odori, Kamishichiken, Kyoto (photo: www.japanexperterna.se)
Photo by Japanexperterna (CC BY-SA)
Maiko Shoko (photo: CLF/flickr)
知恩院 舞妓撮影 Chion-in Maiko (photo: Norio.NAKAYAMA/flickr)
Maiko strolling in Kyoto (photo: spektrograf/flickr)
