April 2019: Maiko Hidekano (Masamiya Okiya) of Pontocho performing during the Heian Jingu Reitaisai Hōno Buyō Matsuri.
Pontocho always sends two Maiko to perform at this event; this year, they sent Hidekano and Ichiai (Masunoya Okiya).
Source: yoshiyan on Instagram
March 2018: Sisters Maiko Ichiai and Ichisato (Masunoya Okiya) of Pontocho performing at the Yasaka Shrine during Higashiyama Hanatōro.
Source: achromatic_tones on Instagram
March 7th, 2019: Congratulations to Hidechisa (秀知紗) of Masamiya (雅美家) in Pontocho on the occasion of her misedashi! When a woman debuts directly as a geiko she celebrates her misedashi and not an erikae; erikae means “the turn one’s collar,” referring to the change of a maiko’s red collar to a geiko’s white one. Since Hidechisa was never a maiko she does not have an erikae, but she still gets to celebrate a misedashi, which means “Opened To The World (For Business)”! She is the first geiko for the newly re-opened Masamiya okiya, and as such does not have an onesan. Her kimono is absolutely stunning though, with vigorous waves flanked by tall rocks ^^! おめでとうさんどす秀知紗さん ^o^! Images courtesy of the Pontocho Kabukai.
February 2019: Maiko Ichisumi (Yamaguchi Okiya) of Pontocho and Aoi-Tayū visiting Baikasai.
Aoi-Tayū has been visiting Baikasai for three years in a row now!
Source: Mr.kei on Instagram
February 2019: Maiko Mitsuhana (Tanmika Okiya) of Pontocho performing a dance.
Source: Satsoshi Tokui on Instagram
February 12th, 2019: Congratulations to Taka (多香) of Yamaguchi (やまぐち) in Pontocho on the occasion of her erikae! The weather in Kyoto was very cooperative today, so Taka took her time posing for the many people that showed up. Her kuromontsuki features pine trees and waves, which are symbols of strength amid change. Taller geiko tend to wear kuromontsuki with pine trees as pine is usually considered a masculine trait and lends well to their height. As an added bonus you can check out a video of her first steps as a geiko here ^^ Images are courtesy of the Pontocho Kabukai.
February 2019: Maiko Taka (Yamaguchi Okiya) and Maiko Hidekano (Masamiya Okiya) of Pontocho making mochi at the Hōjūji Temple in Kyoto.
Source: Patosan on Instagram
February 2019: Sisters Geiko Ayano (Yamaguchi Okiya) and Geiko Mitsuna (Tanmika Okiya) of Pontocho performing their skit for Obake night.
Geiko get to dress up in costumes during Setsubun, and Hisamomo and Mitsuna were dressed as flamenco dancers.
Source: 着物人 和佐 薫 on Instagram
February 2019: Maiko Ichisato (Masunoya Okiya) and Maiko Momika (Yamaguchi Okiya) of Pontocho performing at the Yasaka Shrine during Setsubun.
Pontocho sends two Maiko to perform at the Yasaka Shrine every February 2nd.
Source: you.iwata on Instagram
January 30th, 2019: Another new face has showed up, but this time it’s a geiko! Hidechisa (秀知紗) of Masamiya (雅美家) in Pontocho has officially begun her minarai period and will be making her debut on March 7th. It is unknown at this time as to whether she will be a tachikata or jikata geiko, but it is impressive for Masamiya to debut three new girls within the same year of re-opening! Image is courtesy of Masamiya Okiya.
January 2019: Maiko Hidemai (Masamiya Okiya) of Pontocho at the Geimaiko-event at the Kyoto Museum of Traditional Crafts.
Source: yoshiyan on Instagram
January 2019: Geiko Ichiraku (Tanmika Okiya) of Pontocho bowing respectfully.
Source: Yoshinori Mori on Instagram
January 17th, 2019: Taka (多香) of Yamaguchi (やまぐち) in Pontocho has switched to the sakkō hairstyle ahead of her erikae! She will be turning her collar on February 12th, just under a month from now. Like other previous Yamaguchi girls she’s wearing a beautiful purple iromontsuki and shimmering red collar. Her kanzashi features a very large crane on a base of gold and silver pine with added pine needles in its beak ^^ Images courtesy of geiko Aya of Pontocho.
January 2019: Maiko Ichiyū (Katsumi Okiya) of Pontocho on her way to the Shigyoushiki opening ceremony.
Source: Patosan on Instagram
Finally, we get to see Hidemai as a Maiko! She is so cute and quite unique, I feel like her looks will make her stand out and she’ll be easy to remember. Her older sister Hidekano looks more mature already (and reminds a lot of people of the great Mineko Iwasaki), while she looks very young, so I think that they compliment each other well.
Hidemai, whose real name is Makoto, already made her first public appearances as a Shikomi in May during the Kamogawa Odori, where she assisted during several tea ceremonies. At that time, her okiya affilation and professional name weren’t known yet and she was wearing an odd combination of a furisode kimono, a handara obi and the chigomage hairstyle, none of which are commonly worn by any Maiko or Minarai, except for the handara obi.
It was expected that she’d make her debut not too long after the Kamogawa Odori, but first, her older sister Hidekano had her Misedashi on the 30th of June, where Hidemai was actually seen helping her sister with an umbrella. Hidemai wasn’t heard of again until early August, when her name, Misedashi date and okiya affiliation where officially made public.
Now, after 5 months, we finally got to see her debut! And just like her sister, she wore quite a lovely kimono and, even more interesting, she wore a unique, stunning chrysanthemum-kanzashi! Her sister Hidekano wore a peony-kanzashi for her debut. Both of these flowers were/are in season at the time of their debut, and, as missmyloko already pointed out, are considered the “great flowers”, so it’s a very unique and symbolic choice.
Since Masamiya was defunct as an okiya for decades and only reopened in 2007 as an ochaya and bar and this year as an okiya, Hidekano and Hidemai are the okiya’s first Maiko in decades and have started a new naming line without an official onesan. I hope both of them stay around for a long time, I’m very excited to see more of them, and from the okiya as a whole!
Congratulations on your debut Hidemai, and all the best wishes for your career!
Source 1 & 2: studio dude music on Twitter Source 3: 1020kiddo on Instagram
September 2018: Sisters Maiko Ichisato and Ichiai (Masunoya Okiya) of Pontocho standing on a boat during the Takasegawa Boat Festival.
Source: daveinosaka on Instagram