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Jun 02 2009 17 Comments

A Geisha in Gion

Kyoto’s Gion district, where the city’s famed geisha live and largely work, still boasts a stunning array of traditional buildings — or at the very least offers a remarkably realistic recreation of them.

And yet despite this, surrounded by modern people and their pursuits, these white-faced workers look weirdly, albeit wonderfully,

Japanese geisha in Kyoto

otherworldly.

Japanese geisha in Kyoto

Categorized: Culture, Photography

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. peacefan says

    6/2/2009 at 3:05 pm

    Nice photo, I tought that the geisha business has long gone though.

    Reply
    • Lee says

      6/2/2009 at 4:32 pm

      Obviously there aren’t the number there once were peacefan, but there are still a good number left. The oldest working geisha is in her 90s if I remember correctly. Well, if she’s still alive that is.

      Reply
  2. Japanophile says

    6/2/2009 at 4:26 pm

    Long time lurker but this photograph is enough to make me comment. Love it!

    Reply
  3. maja says

    6/2/2009 at 4:48 pm

    Ah, nicely captured. She looks outworldly indeed. Love it… Colors of her robe look so good in the twilight. Thanks for sharing this…

    Reply
    • anne says

      7/31/2009 at 3:12 am

      very true i feel with the geishas their like beautiful very expensive china dolls that needs to be kept in a glass case and you can only look at them but never touch their mysteriouse and live in a world that outsiders can only wonder about and thise geshia is very beautiful but i just hope none harrases her or scares her

      Reply
  4. Sandra says

    6/2/2009 at 5:39 pm

    These are beautiful! How can you tell the real deal? I wonder because a Japanese friend did the “Maiko makeover” in Kyoto and part of the ichi-man-en+ deal is that after they dress you up, you go for a stroll in Gion. Probably a world of difference between the way a pro and a tourist carries herself. (Hm. Just answered my own question, I s’pose.)

    Reply
    • Lee says

      6/2/2009 at 6:03 pm

      Yeah, pretty much Sandra. We saw a few tourists all dolled up for the day, and even to my untrained eye, it was immediately obvious they weren’t the real deal. Even from quite a distance.

      Reply
    • anne says

      7/31/2009 at 3:14 am

      i think the fake Geishas have more time for the tourists theyll stand and chat and happly pose for photos the real ones are always in a hurry going to diffrent tea houses

      Reply
  5. Yoli says

    6/3/2009 at 12:07 am

    How exquisite.

    Reply
  6. jamesmallon says

    6/3/2009 at 1:12 am

    Unaji porn!

    Reply
  7. p m doherty says

    6/3/2009 at 7:09 am

    With all respect, isn’t it strongly frowned upon to take photos of Geisha/Maiko (presumably, in this and the previous instance without permission)?
    This isn’t a criticism, I’m just wondering if you were made aware of/disagree with this.

    http://tonymcnicol.com/2009/05/17/geisha-image-rights/
    http://www.japanprobe.com/?p=8035&cpage=1

    Reply
    • Lee says

      6/3/2009 at 1:18 pm

      Cheers for the links, hadn’t heard about that before. Interesting stuff indeed.

      Personally, I feel that if a geisha is being harassed or impeded while going about their business, I can totally understand any such complaints, but I have no qualms whatsoever about taking pictures like the ones above. In fact, they are so incredible looking, actually not taking a picture seems more criminal.

      Plus, considering that it’s an industry not exactly at its peak, and the Japanese tourism industry consistently struggles to attract more visitors, such an approach seems extremely counterproductive. Not to mention utterly unenforcible.

      Reply
      • anne says

        7/31/2009 at 3:19 am

        i agree with the Geisha in the cartoon if i went to Japan and was lucky enough to get photos with a Geisha those photos would be privet for my holiday snaps and put into an old fashiond book but these geishas are only normal human beings at the end of the day and they deserve their privacy and their must be billions of geisha photos on the net anyway

        Reply
    • RMilner says

      6/8/2009 at 8:27 pm

      It’s strongly disapproved by some people and not by others.

      I agree with Lee there is a clear difference between harassing someone to take their photo and just taking their photo.

      Reply
  8. Andoryu says

    6/4/2009 at 11:02 pm

    I like the pictures. The shot from the back was very good

    Reply
  9. Ichimitsu says

    6/8/2009 at 10:52 am

    You got two lovely pictures of Wakana there. She is my favorite and you captured her beautifully.

    Reply
  10. anne says

    7/31/2009 at 3:08 am

    i feel is sad that the Geishas are being stalked and harrased their just normal human beings some very young girls in their teens trying to go to work and the touriests grabbing them isnt just keeping them back it will be scary for them too their should be areas like temples where the tourests can meet the Geishas and get a photo taken with them but the ones scurring up and down the streets of the flower towns should be left a lone a smill or nod of the head is okay but not grabbing the poor girls and keeping them back from their work but their should be areas where the touriests can mingle with the geishas and the Geisha in the photo is lovely

    Reply

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