Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Japan _ Maiko


Maiko on Sanjo Bridge @ Peacock Brand

Friend of mine whom join homestay to Japan send me this postcard from Kyoto this Jun' 08.

In the Japanese way, as young girls before they become women, the dress of the Maiko is more outlandish than that of the mature Geisha. The Obi and Kimono of a Maiko is brightly coloured and ornately decorated, the Kimono is of the Furisode style (more specifically of the oburisode type kimono) with long flapping sleeves that fall to the floor. The collar of the under-kimono worn by the Maiko is usually of a red and white patterned material, and shows vividly against the white neck of the Maiko. This makes the "changing of the collar" ceremony (from patterned to plain white) the coming of age ceremony when a Maiko becomes a Geiko rather obvious.

Sanjo Bridge over the Kamo river in Kyoto city was the ending location for Tokaido from Tokyo.


* Geisha or Geiko are traditional, female Japanese entertainers, whose skills include performing various Japanese arts, such as classical music and dance.


1 comment:

Marie Reed said...

This is such fascinating stuff. Your explanation of the card made seeing it a rich experience indeed!