【Web限定記事】Ｗｅｂ限定で一部記事を英語版で配信します。 Living as a Geiko with passion

　Geiko is a woman trained to entertain men with conversation, singing and dancing, and Maiko is a the younger who have learned to be a Gaiko.

　

　Ageha Onmori, 20, from Manazuru, became a professional Geiko in Gion, Kyoto in January 2021 after spending 4 years working as a Maiko. She is called 'Tatsuha' as a Geiko and has entertained many customers with dancing.

　

　

　"It is the best for me that I have a job I really love", Ageha spoke elegantly. To become a professional Maiko and Geiko, she had made so much effort with passion.

　

　She used to have a dream to be a musician. At her age of junior high school, she learned and played a clarinet and a piano before encountering a documentary about Maiko working in Gion. This program was so shocking for the 15 year-old girl and changed her mind. "I was really surprised that some girls in nearly the same age as me are in very gorgeous kimonos and have already been working as professional Maiko.", she said. "I want to be a Maiko too!"

　

　Girls who are going to be Maiko are required to start training as soon as they graduate from junior high school. She decided to become a Maiko because she didn't want to regret her life.

　

　In Kyoto, this 15 year-old girl started learning traditional Japanese dance from a living national treasure in dance, Mrs. Yachiyo Inoue. During a year of training, she was so busy not only learning dance, but also supporting elder Maiko and Geiko. The more time passed, the more of her classmates quitted. A year later, Ageha and 4 girls out of 12 classmates received permission to be Maiko. "I didn't give up because I really like to dance on a stage."　

　

　She cannot forget her first day as a professional Maiko. She wore a formal kimono that is heavier than 10 kg and felt "It was so heavy, but I was happy."

　

　4 years later, she was chosen as the first of her classmates to become a Geiko. "Then I shall lead younger Maiko on stage. Becoming Maiko is not a goal, but just the beginning.", she said.

　

　Because of a temporary holiday due to the state of emergency, Ageha came back to Kanagawa at the end of this April, and helped her mother in a restaurant her mother manages in Odawara. She said, "After going back to Gion, I'm willing to entertain many people as a Geiko!"

　

　

※This English article is based on a article bellow.

この英語記事の元になった掲載記事はこちら。

https://www.townnews.co.jp/0607/2021/05/22/575643.html