Geiko & Maiko

May 2019: Maiko Kanohisa (Kanoya Okiya) of Gion Higashi celebrated her 17th birthday recently! Happy belated birthday Kanohisa!

Source: Chuanlai on Instagram

February 2019: Maiko Tomichie (Tomikiku Okiya), Maiko Kanochiyo (Kanoya Okiya), Maiko Kanotomo (Kanoya Okiya), Maiko Kanohiro (Kanoya Okiya), Maiko Masano (Man Okiya), Maiko Kanohisa (Kanoya Okiya) and Maiko Ryouma (Sakaemasa Okiya) of Gion Higashi performing at the Yasaka Shrine during Setsubun.

Setsubun is the traditional beginning of the lunar new year and celebrated every year from February 2nd to February 4th. A group of Maiko of each kagai of Kyoto perform several dances at their respective shrines and then throw lucky beans into the crowd to dispell evil spirits; this tradition is called mameaki.

Gion Higashi usually sends four or five Maiko to perform at the Yasaka Shrine on February 3rd, but this year, they send all their seven active Maiko to perform. Maiko Kanohiro got the center position, since she has the most seniority.

Source: jjeune11 on Instagram

December 2018: Sisters Geiko Kanowaka, Maiko Kanohiro, Maiko Kanotomo and Maiko Kanohisa (Kanoya Okiya) of Gion Higashi during Kotohajime.

Kanotomo and Kanohisa were wearing their full makeup and attire because they were scheduled for appointments shortly after Kotohajime.

Maiko Kanochiyo is not in the picture, but she was also present during Kotohajime.

Source: hide on Instagram

December 2018: Maiko Kanohisa (Kanoya Okiya) of Gion Higashi performing at the 113th Kyoto Cuisine Exhibition.

Source: koimachi13 on Instagram

November 2018: Maiko Kanohisa (Kanoya Okiya) of Gion Higashi performing a dance, while Geiko Tsunekazu (Shigenoya Okiya) plays the shamisen and sings.

Tsunekazu had her Misedashi in 1966 and her Erikae in 1971, so she has been active for a whooping 52 years and is the most senior Geiko of Gion Higashi. At ozashiki, she usually acts as a jikata nowadays, but she still dances the most important role in the Gion Odori every year.

Source: Ryo Yokota on Instagram

November 2018: Sisters Maiko Kanohisa and Kanochiyo (Kanoya Okiya) of Gion Higashi on their way home from a Gion Odori performance.

Source: Marina Vilas on Instagram

October 2018: Fresh Maiko Kanohisa (Kanoya Okiya) of Gion Higashi performing a dance at an ozashiki.

Source: 정근호 Jeong keun ho on Instagram

Today in Gion Higashi: Misedashi of Maiko Kanohisa and Kanochiyo from the Kanoya Okiya!

I’m so happy to hear good news from Kanoya! Last year, Kanotomo made her debut in June and she has become pretty popular already, and in late June, Kanowaka (fomerly Fukuharu) switched to Kanoya, and now they have two new girls! It’s looking up for them!

Kanoya is atcually a pretty small okiya, that had fallen onto hard times in the 80s when the Geisha numbers in Japan started to rapidly decline, but in the 10 to 15 years, Gion Higashi as a whole has managed to recover and Kanoya has also been doing better more recently. Kanohiro and Kanotomo are two of my favourite Maiko, so I have a soft spot for this okiya.

Kanohisa and Kanochiyo were sighted as Shikomi for the first time in early February, but they were probably around for a little longer than that, probably since shortly after New Year or even a little earlier, so they had at least 8 months of preparation for their debut.

And my god, they are so cute! Both of them look quite young, but in different ways. Kanochiyo (second picture) has a round face with still quite a lot of baby fat, so it will be interesting to see how she will mature, and Kanohisa has the very typical (and sought-after) Maiko-look, and she actually reminds me a bit of Katsuemi from Gion Kobu. Their debut is such happy news not only for Kanoya, but for the entirety of Gion Higashi, and I hope that they’ll stay around for their full Maiko-period at least!

Congratulations on your debut Kanohisa and Kanochiyo, and all the best wishes for your career!

Source 1: yoshiyan on Instagram Source 2: giwonhigashi - Blog Source 3: 莉子 on Instagram