Geishas Galore!
Trip Start
Jun 07, 2008
1
60
188
Trip End
Jun 28, 2009
Kyoto,
Kinki,
Japan
Sunday, November 2, 2008
When we got to Kyoto we went to a Japanese noodle or udon shop for lunch. We sat in a little room by ourselves. We had to take our shoes off and put on slippers to go into the room. You had to sit down criss-cross on a cushion on the floor because the table was so low. I could not read the menu at all - it was all in Japanese!
After that we went to Gion and we were very, very lucky - we saw five geishas
Geisha in Gion
! The geishas wear white makeup and black makeup around their eyes. They wear their hair in a bun (it is actually a wig), wear beautiful kimonos, and wear tall wooden shoes that rock back and forth. Instead of a purse, they have a sash with a pocket on their backs that can carry all their stuff. It is called an obi - it takes 71 steps to make one. We saw five geishas, including one walking by herself down a dark alley. There are only about 190 geishas in all of Kyoto. Geishas are trained to play music, sing, dance, arrange flowers, serve tea, and do lots of other things. You can choose to become a geisha now but a long time ago some families sold their daughters to people to train them as geishas. It takes a lot of training to learn how to become a geisha - you have to live in a special house when you are only 16 or so until you graduate to be a real geisha. The geishas we saw were all very beautiful!We walked back to the hotel along the river and played for a while in a little playground. Tomorrow is going to be a busy day, so we are having an early night.
