September 25th, 2018:Congratulations to Umenana (梅なな) of Umeno (梅乃) in Kamishichiken on the occasion of her misedashi! She is the second minarai to debut from Umeno this month alone and will not be the last! Her minarai period was very short at only 18 days, but it seems as though she was ready for her new role!
Today in Kamishichiken: Misedashi of Maiko Umenana from the Umeno Okiya!
What a suprise! I didn’t expect Umenana to debut for another two weeks, her Minarai-period was exceptionally short, it wasn’t even three weeks long!
Umenana is really expectionally cute, she has such a babyface, if I didn’t know better, I’d think that she was 12 or 13 years old! Her childish look makes her look a lot like pre-war junior Maiko, who often debuted between the ages of 10-13. She also reminds me of Ichiai and Ichisumi from Pontocho, who also look very young.
The fact that she looks so childlike makes me hope that she stays around for longer even more, so that we can all see her blossom into a mature young woman! But for now, the first-year Maiko-look certainly suits her perfectly ^^.
There are still two more Misedashi in Kamishichiken to come, one more from Umeno with Minarai Umesana, who will debut sometime in October, and Minarai Ichihiro from Ichi, whose Misedashi date is still unknown. Kamishichiken suffered a lot of losses this year, but they also had four debuts and the Maiko who debuted last year seem to be staying around, so it’s not all bad.
Congratulations on your debut Umenana, and all the best wishes for your career!
May 2019: Maiko Mamesumi (Ninben Okiya) of Gion Kobu performing Kurokami, “black hair”. It’s a special dance that is almost exclusively performed during a Maiko’s sakkou period.
A “sakkou period” are the two to three weeks before a Maiko has her Erikae and becomes a Geiko. She wear the special, elaborate sakkou hairstyle (very well visible in the picture above), and wears a special, self-designed kanzashi consisting of lucky motifs. They also wear special outfits, but those depend on the customs of the kagai. In Gion Kobu, Maiko wear a formal black kimono, a golden obi and a mostly white collar.
At the end of their sakkou period, the end of the girl’s bun is symbolically cut off to signify her transition from Maiko to Geiko, from girl to woman.
Mamesumi’s Erikae will take place on the 30th of May! It’s the first Erikae from Ninben/Shibata since Mamesome’s in February of 2013.
9th of May 2019: Misedashi of Maiko Fukusono from the Shigemori Okiya of Miyagawacho!
Maiko Fukusono is one of the first two Maiko to debut in the new Reiwa Era, alongside Maiko Mameaya of Gion Kobu. Fukusono’s Misedashi was actually postponed by Shigemori’s okaasan, so that Fukusono wouldn’t be the last Maiko to debut in the Heisei Era, but the first Maiko to debut in the Reiwa Era. What a nice sentiment!
Fukusono is the second Maiko to debut from Shigemori this year, her older sister Fukunori debuted in February. They had no new debuts since Koen in January of 2016, so this year is already looking great for them! Fukusono is also the first imouto of Shigemori’s youngest Geiko, Fukuchō (second picture)! Before that, Fukuhiro or Kofuku always played the role of onee-san, but now there is one more young Geiko to take that role.
Fukusono is very cute and makes a great pair with her sisters Fukunori, who has a similar cute look. Fukusono actually reminds me a bit of Geiko Tomitsuyu of Gion Higashi on her early years, so it’s going to be interesting to see how she progresses!
Congratulations on your debut Fukusono, and all the best wishes for your career!
9th of May 2019: Misedashi of Maiko Mameaya from the Ninben Okiya of Gion Kobu!
Mameaya is one of the two first Maiko to debut in the new Reiwa period, alongside Fukusono of Miyagawacho who also had her debut on May 9th. Mameaya is the imouto of senior Geiko Mameya, who is also the onee-san of Maiko Mamesaya. She is the fifth currently active Maiko from Shibata/Ninben, but Mamesumi will have her Erikae on the 30th, so this day is an extra happy occasion for the okiya!
In picture 2, you can see Mameaya surrounded by most of her family. Back row: Geiko, Emino, Geiko Mamewaka, Geiko Mamemaru Middle row: Maiko Mameyui, Maiko Mamesaya, Maiko Mamesumi, Maiko Mametama Front row: Geiko Mameryō, Geiko Mameya, Mameaya herself, Geiko and okaasan Mamehiro and Geiko Mameka
Mameaya herself is quite tall, even without okobo, which makes her stand out. I’m sure that her onee-san Mameya will help her become popular in no time!
Congratulations on your debut Mameaya, and all the best wishes for your career1
