Maiko are apprentice geisha, geisha being fancy performers of shamisen and dance who entertain gentlemen in by sitting with them and talking, performing, etc. Not prostitutes, and very expensive. Easily recognizable by their white face paint, kimono, and fancy hair. Maiko, as apprentices, are more showy and wear kimono with long sleeves and giant obis (the fabric around their middle that ties in the back.) A geisha's obi is tied in a fancy knot at her back. A maiko's obi is tied in a fancy knot at her back with long extra pieces of fabric that hang down. Usually maiko's have more decorations in their hair as well. Anyhoo, there is a surplus of information about geisha and maiko to be found, so if you're interested, go take a look. :)
So, Kyoto is pretty famous for Geisha, as it was the old capitol, and it had huge Geisha districts prior to the second world war. Pontocho and Gion are the most famous two. Our hostel for the Kyoto leg of our trip was in the Gion district. Because Gion is well known for geisha, there are many places you can go to get painted and costumed up to look like a geisha or maiko. Some even let you walk around Kyoto dressed like so. I chose just to get dressed up and get a few pictures taken, thinking I'd probably look pretty ridiculous walking around Kyoto as a 26 year old 5'8" maiko. It rained really horribly that day as well, which made me glad I hadn't booked a walk about session.
So, I showed up at Maiko Henshin's Sakuraten building at 10 am, rather drenched due to the rain and the great gusts of wind. I checked in and filled out my paperwork and was given a simple white robe, white tabi socks, and a basket to put anything I needed to keep with me in, such as my camera. I then was escorted to a locker room where I was given a locker and told to take everything off except my underoos and my tabi socks, and put on the white robe. I did so, put in my contacts, and then went upstairs for make up.
The make up artist seemed to enjoy my wings tattoo which was hanging out. She had me sit on a stool in front of a mirror and put a wig cap on my head. Then she proceeded to put cleanser on my face, then something that felt like wax. Then she took a large brush and proceeded to paint my face, neck to my collar bone, and back to my shoulder blades white. I had to keep my eyes closed for most of it, so I'm not really sure in what order things happened, but I got eyeliner, blush, red about my eyes, eyebrows drawn on, and red lips. After my make up was finished, I was directed to the next room where I got to choose my kimono. I didn't really know how to choose or what to look for, so I just picked one at random that I thought had a pretty design on the sleeves.
After I showed the kimono dressers my choice, they hung it up on a rack, and stood me in front of the mirror. I got a red patterned wrap skirt type deal wrapped around my waist, a collar around my neck and all sorts of towel/padding type things tied all over the place with strings. It seemed very complicated. I really have no idea what any of it was. Then they put my kimono robe on me, and folded it and tied it with more strings, then the obi, an obi decoration belt thing, some more random stuff. It was all very heavy and constricting. After I was all tied up and dressed, the dresser folded my kimono up so it wouldn't drag, tied it out of the way, and sent me upstairs to the wigs/photo area.
In the wig room, I was seated on a stool and fitted with a wig. Then was photo shoot time, where they tried to make me stand like a delicate lady. Geisha smile with their mouths closed, which was very difficult for me. I think I may be grimacing in some of the photos.... woops. After the mini photoshoot, I had 10 minutes where I could take pictures myself, or friends/family could take them of me. This is where Steve was to come in, however he had gotten lost trying to find the place, and so there was no one to take photos of me. I snapped a few of myself in the mirror and then shrugged. Good enough. I was de-wigged, then went back downstairs and de-kimonoed. I felt so much lighter and free when all that was off.
One of the workers escorted me back downstairs and washed the white make up off my back for me, and showed me how to get it off my face. You didn't use water. Instead you take paper towels, put baby oil on them, take the make up off with the baby oil, and then use a dry paper towel to wipe the oil off your face. After all the make up and baby oil is gone, you can wash your face with water and cleanser. Once I was make up free and as clean as I was going to get, I took my contacts out, put my still wet clothes back on (yuck...), and went back in the waiting area/front desk. Steve had made it about 2 minutes earlier and was waiting. I paid, got my pictures, and we ventured out to see more Kyoto in the rain.
All in all, it was very interesting. I'd love to do it again sometime with a friend. I was the only person in the whole place there by herself. I think it would be much more enjoyable to do it with someone who can talk about the steps and take pictures with and such. :) I was also by far the tallest female in the room. lol.
So! Pictures!
Check out those wigs behind me! Fun!
Waiting in the wig room. My kimono is tied up so I don't step on it/drag it. the red flowered bit at the bottom is the wrap skirt, not part of the kimono.
My sexy neck painting! Back in the day, the neck was considered all sexy like. So they painted the skin but left the neck bare like this because guys were all like "Zomg!" It's the equivalent of wearing a short skirt in America. Here's a lovely quote from Wiki: "The white makeup covers the face, neck, and chest, with two or three unwhitened areas (forming a W or V shape, usually a traditional W shape) left on the nape, to accentuate this traditionally erotic area, and a line of bare skin around the hairline, which creates the illusion of a mask." Check out Wiki's geisha page for lots of geisha information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geisha
Can you see my wings peeking out under the paint? lol
Looks right up your alley!
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