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Oct 05 2011 19 Comments

A striking foreign Maiko in Asakusa

OK, she’s not a real Maiko, just a woman dressed up for a TV show. But with the country’s most famous non-Japanese Geisha having recently quit the profession, leaving only one left, it’s probably about as near as any foreign female is going to get for the foreseeable future.

foreign geisha/maiko

And she did make for quite a striking sight.

foreign geisha/maiko

A sight one doesn’t see everyday, that’s for sure.

foreign geisha/maiko

Categorized: Culture, Photography

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Biggie says

    10/5/2011 at 9:49 am

    haha, well, she seems to be enjoying it for sure!

    Reply
    • Lee says

      10/5/2011 at 5:00 pm

      Yeah, she was enjoying herself, as well as creating quite a stir.

      Reply
  2. Calissaja says

    10/5/2011 at 11:08 am

    Yikes! I know she’s fake, but her make-up is fugly!

    Reply
    • Lee says

      10/5/2011 at 5:02 pm

      I’m no expert on make-up, but I did notice that her eyebrows looked a bit slap-dash to say the least.

      Reply
  3. AdelaideBen says

    10/5/2011 at 12:37 pm

    Well – I’m sure she had a hoot, especially if she knew she’d make it to Tokyo Times blog.

    Still, it was an interesting read on the linked Fiona (‘Sayuki’) Graham story. The first western Geisha in Japan seems to also have been the first Westerner to be kicked out from being a Geisha in Japan. Of course, it’s hard to know the truth of these things – on one side it sounds like she’s a victim of Japanese cultural/racial ceiling (her story) and on the other hand she’s very much an opportunistic self-promoter that never really tried to fit in and take it seriously (their story). Who knows, but I know there’s a bit of venom about the whole story, on both sides. In the meantime, the Geisha still is one of the most sought after sights for tourists coming to Japan today.

    Reply
    • Lee says

      10/5/2011 at 5:11 pm

      Yes, it is an interesting story, isn’t it? And like you say, it’s hard to know were the blame lies. Probably a bit of both. It can’t be an easy job/life to say the least, and I dare say there are plenty of problems between Japanese Geisha and their ‘mothers’, without the added difficulty of cultural differences etc.

      Reply
  4. Lyn says

    10/5/2011 at 1:55 pm

    Actually, there is another western Geisha. Her name is Eve & she’s working in Anjo. She’s Ukrainian. I wonder why more people don’t know about her, is Anjo that microscopic?

    Reply
    • Lee says

      10/5/2011 at 5:13 pm

      Ah, I had no idea about that Lyn. Thanks for the info. But yeah, it does beg the question as to why she isn’t known. The others have certainly got at least some coverage.

      Reply
  5. winnie says

    10/5/2011 at 4:50 pm

    Her make up is clearly not well done.
    But I like the 1st picture as the natural smile on her face is nice!

    Reply
    • Lee says

      10/5/2011 at 5:16 pm

      Yeah, I like the first picture too. Of course very un-Maiko-like, but like you say, so is the make-up!

      Reply
  6. Jeffrey says

    10/6/2011 at 12:35 am

    It just doesn’t work and it never will. Nice Halloween costume, but . . .

    Reply
  7. Rurousha says

    10/6/2011 at 6:13 am

    Liza Dalby, who’s American, worked as a geisha in Kyoto in 1975 while doing doctoral research in anthropology, and wrote a book called “Geisha” about her experience. From Wikipedia: “She was allowed to debut as a geisha under the name Ichigiku. She performed at ozashiki as a geisha, without charging money.” It could be argued that she wasn’t a real geisha because her purpose was research rather than employment, but she certainly lived like a geisha for that year. PS: I agree with Winnie. Beautiful smile, but dreadful make-up. PPS: Great photos, as always!

    Reply
    • Lee says

      10/6/2011 at 7:09 pm

      Thanks Rurousha! And thanks too for the info. Very interesting. Whether real or not, living that life for a year must have been pretty tough.

      Reply
  8. Makoto says

    10/7/2011 at 8:31 pm

    I’ve just written a blog about Japanese women and geisha. I am not sure about Western geisha, though… I don’t think her skin is suitable for geisha make-up.

    Reply
  9. genjisato says

    10/8/2011 at 8:17 am

    Sayuki is still working as a geisha and working with geisha from other districts in Tokyo. She didn’t quit. That was just media getting it wrong. She left Asakusa district but she is still working. http://www.sayuki.net

    Reply
    • Lee says

      10/8/2011 at 9:43 am

      Ah, interesting. Cheers for the info.

      Reply
      • Thurisaz says

        10/8/2011 at 1:23 pm

        Actually, she did quit. Or rather, was fired. Then she blamed the fact that she was a foreigner. Supposedly, she refused to study, saying she only wanted to try it out since she worked days as an anthropologist at Keio University. She still plays like an amateur, even years later. If she has been practicing, I can’t tell. Originally, Fiona didn’t even want her personal name to be released, and attacked inquirers for asking her anything, or even just for posting photos of her! But then she released it herself… apparently, she didn’t want it to be well-known that she was a lecturer/anthropologist, only studying geisha, with no intent to become one. She herself at one point said she only wanted to “try it out” for a year or so… and then promoted herself like crazy as if she were authentic.

        The fact is, being geisha is a full-time job on it’s own. It means hours of daily practice of many arts, including a specialty art. Then comes the actual ozashiki, entertaining at night. If she doesn’t know if she really wants to be a lecturer or a geisha, then she should stick with being a lecturer.

        And now what does she do? That “geisha” has her own kimono shop, selling the “ancient geisha secret”… a tsuke-obi. Feh! Fujika-san has a far more respectable post-geisha career!

        Reply
  10. richard sakamoto says

    10/11/2011 at 7:27 pm

    Sayuki has been lecturing at Keio on geisha culture and has banquets for her students to let them have that experience which I think is great. There is a video on Youtube that shows one of her student banquets.
    Sayuki has said she started flute when she was a child and supported her university studies by playing so she must have worked pretty hard to do that. She has played flute on television and radio in Japan plenty of times. The photos are on her web-site.
    I doubt Sayuki can control whether the media put out her real name. She probably didn’t want her real name out there because geisha don’t give out their real names and she was probably told not to by her geisha mother.
    She has said in interviews lots of times that it was only planned to be a year in the beginning, but that she got permission to continue as a geisha after the first year. She couldn’t have continued without permission.
    And I don’t see how she can promote just herself when geisha go to banquets in a group. She was promoting her district, not just herself.
    Lots of geisha have other jobs. Sayuki wasn’t the first to do that either.
    You are being really harsh on her…she must have worked really hard to do what she did.

    Reply
  11. R.S. says

    11/27/2014 at 4:01 am

    God damnit she’s ugly. Those photos almost made me throw up.
    Why would anyone try to look like a Maiko that is not Japanese. And not pretty?
    That’s just awefull.

    Reply

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