Minarai in Gion Kobu, Gion Higashi and Kamishichiken actually wear kimono with hems that are just as long as those of a maiko hikizuri. It is only the sleeves that are comparably shorter.

Gion Kobu:

Gion Higashi:

Kamishichiken:

Miyagawacho minarai do wear a kimono with short hem during the first three days of their minarai stage. Pontocho minarai... they don't seem to have strict rules about what to wear. Some minarai wear hikizuri, some don't, or only for a short time.

2017(上)&2016(下) 舞妓 宮川町 千賀遥さん 

全身から緊張が漂っていた一年前。成長した姿に感動を覚えました。

2017(black kimono)&2016(Olive green kimono) maiko, Miyagawachô, Chikaharu

Mylo’s Pick of The Week This week is a dual entry for Chikaharu (千賀遥) of Komaya (駒屋) in Miyagawa Cho. I absolutely love the dichotomy between the two images as the experience each year of being a maiko brings could never be more evident. Look at the 2016 image: her kimono is folded under on her side, her hands are overlapped, and her obi is a bit bunched. This isn’t really much of an issue, but look at the exact same positions in the 2017 image: Her kimono is now folded immaculately in the front as you can even see her hiyoku clearly, her hands are lightly touching together in almost the same position they will appear in before and after she dances, and her obi is laid out smoothly behind her. This took repeated practice and it shows just how far she’s come in such a short amount of time. This may not seem like much, but presentation is everything in the karyukai and how you present yourself is an obvious sign of experience. From what I’ve been told she’s an absolutely wonderful and funny maiko at parties and easily makes new customers her fans ^^

The one in purple is Fumikou from Yoshifumi - she’s now waka-okaasan of that okiya.

Excluding the Kaden/Kawayoshi maiko, I have pictures of Fukutomo of Ishihatsu, Fukuhiro of Shigemori, Fumisono of Yoshifumi, and Kimisome and Kimiharu of Honjo also wearing iromontsuki with sakkou.

Also, Kimitomo of Toshikimi initially wore sakkou with irotomesode, but without the red collar. Interesting!

Well, here comes grandma speaking about the old times... hahaha.

For me, roleplaying as a geisha started around 2008 or 2009, I think? Back then I barely knew what roleplaying was or even what geisha were, so you can probably imagine the disaster that must have been. There was a group of people I regularly interacted with and we collectively established what we called IMVU’s first hanamachi. We called it Yanagagikawa.

We thought we were roleplayers, but looking back it was more like cosplay. We did use different names for our characters, but keeping In Character and Out Of Character separated proved to be very hard for many. Thankfully most of us got gradually better at that, but after a few years things came to a point where there were too many differences in how people handled things. By then we had several “okiya” groups, which people’s characters could join, but there was no general consensus about what was done and what rules should be followed in our hanamachi. We had basically two factions: one where people really tried to mimic living in a real life hanamachi as close as possible, and the other group that... well, didn’t. You can see where it went wrong.

So Mitsuyo (a friend of mine) and I decided to create a new hanamachi together. We took our own okiya groups with its members and characters and started anew. We decided on a new name, created a set of rules and then started to allow more people in. That was in 2012, I think. Our goal was for people to properly roleplay the life of a shikomi/maiko/geiko, so we agreed that education was a big priority. We wanted no misconceptions, so every roleplayer would be expected to know their stuff about things like the different arts, kimono or basic manners.

Our roleplay would take place in a hanamachi called Miyajimachou and all our characters would be part of either the Ayanigu (Mitsuyo’s) or the Sumiya (mine) okiya. One of our rules stated that only people whose character was a geiko (after completing all previous stages) would be allowed to set up an okiya. Someone owning an okiya group would after all be responsible for educating the people that joined that group, so that wasn’t an easy task for people to take on.

As a result, the hanamachi rp did well and we were glad to welcome many new members. Mitsuyo and I organized several events for the geimaiko characters to showcase their arts and we strictly followed the customs and rituals of the real life hanamachi - but with our own twist. Some things just can’t be done in a chat program after all.

In 2017, Mitsuyo decided to leave the roleplay, so then it was just me leading the roleplay. Thankfully, Rei (from Mitsuyo ’s okiya group) stepped up and took responsibility for the others in her group. She started the Hanai okiya, and the Ayanigu closed its doors.

Rei and I edited the rules a bit to make sure people would be more committed to the roleplay, we standardized tests and traditions, and together we set up many events for us to roleplay. She took charge of her new okiya group and the hanamachi attracted many new people.

In the meantime, I developed new products for us to use in our roleplay, like dance poses, props, accessories, hairstyles, kimono and many other items. Lately I’ve been focusing on creating a website to collect all our hanamachi’s rules and traditions. It’s a lot of work, so it takes a while.

Other than that, I am working on several rooms, and in particular one that would be our hanamachi, with Flash portals to our okiya and ochaya rooms (if IMVU will let me). In addition, I set up a BIG Japanese/Kansaiben-English dictionary for us to use and I keep track of all of our (NPC) characters in another spreadsheet.

Lastly, there are of course also the yearly events to organize, like Shigyoushiki, Baikasai and our spring Odori. Most of the preparation work is setting the date, making sure everyone is happy with their role and in some cases getting the room ready. Then it’s up to each individual roleplayer to make sure they are ready in time - and for the Miyajimacho okaasan players to keep track of that! Rei is always a great help for organizing these events, because I keep forgetting about them, haha.

So yeah, that’s about it. If you’re interested to learn more about the Miyajimachou, please send me or Rei a PM or let me know through  https://www.imvu.com/groups/group/Miyajima-chou%2BHanamachi%2B%255BRoleplay%255D/.

What’s That Thing? Part 22

This one got a bit image heavy, so I decided to make it into its own feature ^^ Anonymous asked: “What is the formality of kimono that are patterned like tomesode, as in the pattern is only below the waist, but have no crests? What would this type of kimono be called? I’ve seen examples labeled as tomesode, houmongi, or tsukesage, but all are no crest, solid colour, with only patterns along the bottom. Thank you for your help!” This can cause a great deal of confusion, and even many kimono sellers can get houmongi and tsukesage confused. So, let’s take a look at each style! I’ll be using some examples from Ichiroya to make this easier to understand ^^ Tomesode (留袖): Pattern will only be found below the waist and will always have at least one kamon. It is the highest formality of kimono.

Images courtesy of Ichiroya. Houmongi (訪問着): Will have a pattern across the entire garment, almost always unbroken that can also be found on the sleeves. Kamon may or may not be present. It is the second highest formality of kimono and is considered formal attire.

Images courtesy of Ichiroya. Tsukesage (付け下げ): Patterns will stay within their respective tan (the fabric strips that connect together to make a kimono), but will cross over on the two furthest to the left. They can have kamon, but it’s very rare. It is considered semi-formal wear.

Images courtesy of Ichiroya. So, going back to the original question, let’s look at what was being asked. To quote: “all are no crest, solid colour, with only patterns along the bottom”; this would make it a houmongi. Remembering what the rules are above can make it easy to narrow down. For example, here’s a piece from Ichiroya that matches exactly what was described:

Images courtesy of Ichiroya. The problem that can sometime arise when trying to identify different types is that most images only show the back of the kimono, which leaves out areas with additional motifs, such as the reverse of the sleeves and the parts that would show along the front of the chest. I’ve included them with the examples above so that you can see what I mean. However, if you can only see the back image then it can make things a bit confusing and/or hard to determine. I used this image the other day, but it’s a fantastic example! This is a houmongi that I own:

With just the back of the kimono showing you’d think that it was a tomesode (motifs only below the waist and the presence of kamon), but on the reverse there’s actually another chrysanthemum on the sleeve and a smaller one along the chest. So, try to find as many images as possible, and if not then try to remember the rules above to narrow it down ^^

Maiko and geiko will actually continue to wear the inaho kanzashi until January 15th, which in the old lunar calendar would have been the first full moon of the year. That day is called the “little new year” (koshōgatsu).

The New Year season, called matsunouchi, lasts for the seven days from January 1st to January7th.

A Random PSA About The People Who Actually Run Things - Part 4

On the Fifth Day Of Fun I present… another continuation! You may have thought that this series was over, BUT YOU’D BE WRONG… AGAIN! It actually came to my attention earlier this year that I forgot to include a very important person, so thanks to @thatlightsaberlesbian for asking about this! The Onesan (お姉さん) They are easily the person who is the most responsible for a maiko’s overall growth at ozashiki and within the kagai after her debut, even more so than the okasan. While the okasan will teach a shikomi the mannerisms that she will need to succeed and introduce her to the people who work and live in the kagai, it is the onesan who can make or break a maiko once she debuts. But, before we get into the nitty gritty, let’s take a look at the basic responsibilities of an onesan. They include: Outside The Ozashiki -Teach her imōto about all of the people within the karyukai. It is also the duty of the onesan to make sure that her imōto is aware of all rules, which usually includes how each okasan of every ochaya operates (her likes, dislikes, and rules that must be obeyed at her establishment), how every other maiko and geiko operates (just like the okasan of an ochaya), and how to best please the people around her to succeed. -Take responsibility for her imōto’s actions. Even though maiko are still learning, they are expected to obey all rules within the karyukai, even ones that they may not know about. If they were to slight someone, whether on purpose or by accident, it falls to the onesan to apologize for the imōto’s behavior and correct it in the future. -Listen to her imōto’s problems. This one may seem like it’s obvious, but people tend to skip this part when looking at the purely black and white issues. The imōto is meant to treat her onesan like a real sister, so the onesan is the one that she goes to when seeking advice or sometimes just to chat.  Inside The Ozashiki -Introducing a maiko to her customer base. If any maiko is to succeed she must gain a steady customer base, which almost always begins with the customers that her onesan have. By introducing her new charge to her customers she gives them an advantage over girls who do not have onesan and subtly hints that her customers should also help in teaching the new maiko by hiring her whenever they’re in town. But, before that, she must go about… -Teaching a maiko how to act at an ozashiki. This includes how to enter the space, who to greet first, where to sit, and how to look for cues from her seniors about when to dance, when to move around the room, and when to assist any other maiko and geiko present at the party. It is the duty of the most senior geimaiko in the room to be able to read the atmosphere and accommodate their guests to the best of their abilities, so the other maiko and geiko in the room must be able to pick up on these subtle cues. Which then goes hand and hand with… -Teaching a maiko how to interact with customers. The purpose of an ozashiki is to have fun, so it is the duty of an onesan to teach her charge how to read people so that they can make them relaxed and serve them best. This can be very daunting for new maiko, so they will often watch their onesan and copy what they do. If successful, the new maiko will be asked back to entertain that customer, and thus expand their customer base.  The onesan’s duties are quite extensive, and usually the partnership works out well for all involved, but sometimes an onesan can actually be a detriment. While rare, there are times when even experienced geiko break the rules and are black listed from various establishments for some serious slight. This then can look very bad upon the imōto, who is innocent in her onesan’s transgressions, but is still tainted somewhat as she learned everything that she needed to know from her onesan and people may speculate that she’ll adopt the same bad behaviors as her onesan. For an excellent example you can read more in Mineko Iwasaki’s book about the transgressions that her real life sister and appointed onesan Yaeko committed and how much harder she had to work in order to build her pride and reputation back up in the face of everyone looking down on her onesan and, in turn, herself. I can’t state enough times that this is rare, but to not include it would be akin to saying that nothing bad ever happens in the karyukai.

“Two other people took my picture before you, so I was already popular.”

I know that some people said in the comments that this outfit was culturally appropriative, but just remember that you don’t know that someone isn’t a POC or biracial just by looking at them. Don’t assume other people’s races. 

^ My immediate reaction was to be upset by this photo because, I’m sorry, I’m just so fucking sick of people stealing Asian outfits and making them cool or trendy. But then I thought that maybe she’s a mixed kid. If not, there’s a problem here, though.

Hi. I’m actually Japanese. Most of us LIKE when people find beauty in our culture. As long as nobody is disrespecting us or making a mockery of us, then there isn’t a problem, and if you think there is, then it seems that you are in favor of cultural segregation and that is causing more harm than good.

When I was in Japan, there were a lot of places where you could get done up in a kimono or the male equivalent and have your picture taken. No one cares.

Most Korean people I know are pretty delighted when foreigners wear hanbok, in a “oh, you are appreciating our culture! you look good in that” way. I have never actually heard or heard of people reacting negatively to non-Korean people wearing traditional Korean clothes, unless they were racist to begin with and would have objected to foreigners regardless of what they were wearing.

‘Appropriation’ is, I think, only appropriation when either it is done in a blatantly disrespectful way, or if the group whose clothes (etc) are being adopted is culturally marginalized to the degree where they themselves face discrimination when they wear those things.

Korean people, afaik, don’t give a fuck. When foreigners visit and wear our clothes, it’s in good fun by people who are usually appreciative of the aesthetic qualities of what they’re donning, and also because we ourselves have never faced discrimination for our nationality or traditional dress.

uhhh, basically, intent matters, context matters, people within the same community often have radically different ideas of what’s okay. But you know, I think the only Koreans I know who’d potentially care are the American-raised ones on liberal, activisty college campuses who are extremely well versed in the liberal, activisty language and rulebook.

Thank you!!

I also think it makes a difference in that the clothing is, you know, the actual thing and not some vaguely exotic knock-off like most people do with native american clothing. Like this is a legit, actual Kimono. There’s nothing really in the culture OF kimono that has rules about who wears this sort of thing when. Like…kimono literally means “thing you wear”. -shrug-

Bolded some of the things that stood out the most to me.

# it’s not like wearing inaccurate and sacred native american clothing or wearing a bindi or a burqa wear you’re doing it disrespectfully and the people of that group is marginalized and made fun of for those things and there is meaning behind them that people ignore or take for granted kimonos are jusr robes and there isn’t really a stigma about people who wear them 

(gifs from here)

When foreign women come to India we give them pottus and sarees and teach them how to wear them. 

Please stop speaking for us, SJWs. 

There is a huge difference between wearing an item known for its religious or social significance (for example–a Plains headdress), and wearing something that is just a general item of clothing (like kimono).

If you’re wearing it to sexualize it (ie: “sexy kimono” in the fetish scene) or to mock its origin (ie: “sexy geisha Halloween costume!”), then that’s inappropriate. But wearing a kimono in good faith–say to a cherry blossom festival–isn’t in any way cultural appropriation, it’s cultural appreciation.

Like, I’m Dominican, and when people want to buy Mascaras de Carnaval, or learn to dance merengue or bachata, it’s not a bad thing.

What to learn from this post: there is a difference between cultural apreciation and cultural apropriation!!

That last bit sums it up. 

Also haters can COME AT ME

(photos courtesy of Baltimore Lauren)

Just wanted to re-blog this as the cultural appropriation vs cultural appreciation issue comes up quite often. I decided to add an image of myself at a kimono event last summer since it’s important to show how a kimono can be worn in an appreciative manner. Also, my obi was looking nice that day (lol). Yes, the kimono I’m wearing is a hikizuri, but I wore it as a houmongi since I’d be walking and didn’t want it to drag. 

@moushidoodles

First of all, let me make it clear: I am not saying that modern Geisha are prostitutes. I’m not even saying that Meian Geisha were prostitutes. In the Edo period (1603-1867), however, the distinction between Yuujyo, Oiran, and Geisha was not clear. Many of these women crossed into the other professions and worked for both brothels and tea rooms. While Geisha were not primarily sex workers, it was definitely a part of their culture. It was only after 1872, when Emperor Meiji and his government passed a law on prostitution, that the Geisha were officially separated from the sex workers of Japan. Nowadays the Geisha profession does not involve sex.

The information that I provided is meant for players of Final Fantasy 14, in which a certain race is based on Edo period Japanese culture, and so I focus on Edo period history. Most of my knowledge comes from my Japanese grandmother, but I made certain to fact check using history books and Japanese writings before writing the post. I’d be happy to provide sources for my facts, since you demand them. I’ve found a few English-language quotes for you, but most of my textbooks are written in Japanese, so they’d be of little use to you.

Keep reading

Hi dear, let me be clear in saying that I did not call you out, if I would have wanted to do that I would have reblogged the original post refuting everything that you had said. I simply asked what your sources were, and I would love links to the books that you’re referencing because after about a decade of my own research using various resources such as books written by maiko and geiko, plenty of documentaries, and my own set of informational books along with connections to others who have been studying the culture for far longer than I have, I have never found any reliable resource that has made any connection to what you have stated, and now that this has been added on with more misinformation, I feel obligated to state what my sources have said that refutes the information that you have put out there and then further expanded upon. Let me start by saying I have no problem with you writing your Final Fantasy character and giving her a backstory and putting your understanding of the culture into her character because from my understanding your character was inspired by what you thought geisha culture was, however it’s a completely different story when you put incorrect information out there stating it as fact to support your final fantasy character’s backstory as the truth. While it’s nice to have such an interesting outlook on a culture, stating it as fact is incorrect and actually hurts real people in a real profession.

I think you might have a misunderstanding of the history of Geisha and where they originated from. So please allow me to add some clarification, again, these are from my sources after a decade of studying the gokagai and other hanamachi scattered across Japan.

First you state that red light districts (pleasure quarters) were like Las Vegas which I don’t think is a fair comparison. It’s true that red light districts housed Yuujo, Tayuu, Oiran (in Tokyo), along with bars so there was certainly a lot of different fun that was happening there, it also housed the artistic professions as pleasure quarters were for worldly pleasures including the artistic (Kabuki, Noh, music, dances, plays), culinary, spiritual (Many built along shrines, they were started by shrine visitors needing a place to rest after their long journeys) and traditional escapes from the hard working outside world. Now, where Geisha come in, at the beginning of their profession, Geisha were men, these people would entertain the high class patrons, who normally of noble backgrounds, as they waited for the Tayuu and Oiran to make their way to the ochaya. Women saw this as an opportunity to make money with their arts and took the profession over. Geisha were there solely for entertainment purposes, a lot of times after the Oiran or Tayuu would come, they would make their exit, or if it was a big party they would stay and entertain the guests with their music and dances. Geisha were not pressured in any way to have sex by anyone, especially the okaa-san, in fact that would be a problem as it would create competition for the Oiran and Tayuu that they worked closely with. While it was true that sometimes Geisha would be housed in the same okiya as the Oiran and Tayuu, they normally had their own okiya with their own okaa-san so they could more easily focus on the arts, after a certain point they would live on their own. Tayuu and Oiran became less popular as the merchant class grew, the gaudy nature of Oiran and Tayuu fell out of fashion and the merchants preferred the more subdued appearance of the geisha, this was also the time when the traditional arts really started booming, the Geisha were able to separate from the Tayuu and Oiran and make money solely on their arts. It was true that girls were often sold into this profession by families that could no longer support them, all in all this was probably the best case scenario for them as Geisha had a really good shot at becoming independent business women in their own right and can gain a great reputation for their artistic abilities. You stated that maiko even back in the old days were aged 15 to 20 which simply isn’t true, that’s how things are done now but in the past maiko were literally children and would begin their training as early as 9 to begin entertaining around 11 and 12 and become a geiko by the time they were 17. Now there were a few hanamachi that allowed Geisha to be double registered both as Geisha and as prostitutes, Miyagawacho is a good example of this happening, this wasn’t the norm at all and in fact Miyagawacho is still dealing with the stigma, but these women when they were acting as Geisha didn’t provide sex for money, that was reserved for when they were working as prostitutes.

Now you’ve brought some more information to light, that being Danna and Mizuage. I’ll start with the Mizuage as that’s the most commonly misunderstood tradition. In the red light districts just about every profession including Kabuki actors, Tayuu, Oiran, and Geiko, had their own variation of Mizuage, it was the transition from Child to adult. To different professions that meant different things, for the prostitution and courtesan professions that obviously meant the first intimate interaction between her and a customer, for Maiko though it was the transition from Junior Maiko to Senior Maiko, for Maiko this involved a big party where regular customers were invited as the Maiko has made it this far and has been able to keep up with her arts so well it’s expected she will become Geiko (Within the next couple years) This tradition is still practiced in Kyoto and a Maiko transitioning from Wareshinobu Hairstyle to Ofuku hairstyle with a cream collar is still big news. No one bid on her virginity and it wouldn’t have been a boost into her geiko career as her career is already started and normally by that point the girls were pretty successful.

Danna are a completely different story. When the big art boom was happening in Japan and the Merchant class was at it’s strongest, it became a status symbol to have enough money to support an artist, the best artist you could get was a geiko. This was a business dealing and yes, while sometimes romantic relationships formed from this agreement, it was never expected. Geiko could tend to support themselves especially if they were seen as skilled enough to have a Danna, they were helpful, but not crucial. The Danna would help support the Geiko in paying for her apartment, buying accessories, paying a portion of the money for her classes, on and on. Danna got in return one of the best status symbols you could have, imagine having a business meeting over something very crucial and having the luxury of a geisha hosting and entertaining. Danna got priority when it came to scheduling appointments, but they didn’t have control over the geiko, she could still do as she pleased and entertain at other events and ozashiki. Neither party expected sex and the contract could be terminated by either the Danna or the Geiko for any reason. Today Danna are very rare, not a lot of people have the interest or financial ability to support a Geiko and honestly most geiko prefer not to have a danna as they can keep all their independence and not have to worry about fitting a danna’s schedule into her own.

Geisha weren’t sex workers, those who did dabble did so legally by being double registered which wasn’t normal and wasn’t a reflection on their profession and even then they didn’t do the sexual services while working as geisha so I’m not sure where people are seeing the link that geisha were prostitutes when that’s never what their title meant.

 Resources:

Geisha: A Life

Geisha and Maiko of Kyoto

A Geisha’s Journey

Gion Ichisuzu

Autobiography of a Geisha

Geisha (By Liza Dalby)

Geisha A Living Tradition

I’m concerned that the first resource you gave couldn’t tell the difference between Oiran and Geisha in an Ukiyo-e print, nor could they distinguish Geiko from Maiko or even Henshin from Maiko. I also found their perception of the relationship between Geiko and Danna to be completely western in that they expected a sexual relationship out of the business arrangement between the Geiko and Danna simply because it was a male and female instead of considering the fact that the Danna benefiting from the status symbol that came with supporting traditional arts (That idea just seems so foreign to westerners).

Second resource wouldn’t work, I don’t know how long it’s been down for but it doesn’t pull anything up.

Third resource starts already confused as saying that Geisha are called Geiko in Tokyo when in fact they’re called Geisha in Tokyo, they also go on to confuse a senior Maiko with a Geisha, stating that the red collar deems her a geisha when in fact Geisha wear completely white collars. After which they confused the Maiko’s mizuage ceremony with the one preformed by Tayuu and Oiran.

I could go on about this forever but my ending point will be this, as you said you’re not up for a debate. It’s okay to base your character on a culture or a profession and change some things about it to match your character’s story, even go off of what you’ve heard, there’s very few Japanese people who even know what a Geisha is or that they even still exist which has caused further damage to the profession when people are thinking that the mizuage ceremony is done that way for maiko so information that continues to link Geisha to prostitution which is just false, is very damaging, probably more so than people realize. It’s really neat that you’re putting all these resources out for the game to help other people, for the game (And let me tell you, I love that game as well and your character is very pretty) but when it’s put out as factual, it hurts real people.

Edit: Made a quick edit, Mizuage ceremony is still done for Maiko when they transition from a junior maiko to a senior maiko, what I meant was that people still think Mizuage for Geisha had anything similar to mizuage for Tayuu. You can hear a mother share her concern about that very subject in BBC’s documentary “Geisha Girl” the okaa-san of the okiya clarifies that such a thing isn’t done and girls won’t be put into any situation they are uncomfortable with.

Sorry @missmyloko, but I only roleplay only on IMVU, not Second Life. Honestly, I have no idea how SL works. ^_^;

Hear, hear!

Today in Miyajimacho: minarai debut of Mitsuharu (美月春)  from Hanai okiya

On November 5th we will witness Mitsuharu’s debut (misedashi)