Maiko* or Geiko *?

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I'm thankful for another year of blipers friendship and looking forward to another year of pursuing our dreams!

*Maiko: Apprentice geisha.
*Geiko: Term for Geisha in Kyoto.

ANSWER

I took this picture at the Yasaka-shrine during the celebration of the Karuta-hajime-shiki (Ceremony of the first Karuta play of the new year)

The lady in the picture is neither a Maiko nor a Geiko, actually she's an student from Kyoto University playing the role of a member of the aristocracy from the Heian Era (11th-12th century). GOOD JOB ~ Bootneck!

"Karuta-hajime-shiki" is an annual ceremony of the first Karuta Play of the New Year. Women and children wearing the gorgeous costume of the Heian Era nobility show the Karuta game on the Noh stage in the surime. Historians believe that the card game was introduce by the Portuguese, therefore the name "Karuta".

Note that ladys of the aristocracy and in temples they used to wear a very similar Maiko~Geiko makeup. This is something that I'll research more in detail in the near future. I'm very interested to find the meaning of the white colour and if there is any Shintoistic reason or connection with the cosmetics that the Maiko ~ Geiko wear.

Today, in general, Japanese women consider beautiful to have a very white skin. This is a general rule that have been continued since the Heian Era. It's incredible to see the number of women in summer walking under the sun with parasol.