#ichiemi

[taisakuraokiya-blog]

มกราคม 2555: เกโกะ Ichiemi (โอกิยะ Tanmika) จากเขต Pontocho ในจังหวัด Kyoto

Source: Iniwa on Flickr

[geimei]

May 2018: Maiko ichiaya (Masunoya Okiya) and Geiko Ichiemi (Tanmika Okiya) of Pontocho hosting a tea ceremony at the Kamogawa Odori.

Ichiaya is currently wearing the yuiwata hairstyle as a pre-sakkou hairstyle, so she will have her Erikae in about 6 weeks!

Source: emsyfoley on Instagram

[geimei]

December 2017: Geiko Ichiemi, Geiko Ichiraku and Maiko Mitsuhana (Tanmika Okiya) of Pontocho on their way to a joint engagement.

Source: Lilin on Instagram

[kaelula-sungwis]

December letters #1 by Onihide

[geimei]

May 2017: Geiko Ichiemi (Tanmika Okiya) of Pontocho on her way to an engagement.

She is dressed formally because she hoested a tea ceremony at the Kamogawa Odori.

Source: omi on Instagram

[geimei]

May 2017: Geiko Ichifuku, Maiko Ichisato (Masunoya Okiya) and her onee-san Geiko Ichiemi (Tanmika Okiya) of Pontocho at an ozashiki.

Ichisato and Ichiemi are dressed formally because they hosted a tea ceremony at the Kamogawa Odori.

Source: Yukiko on Instagram

[geimei]

Aril 2017: Geiko Ichiemi (Tanmika Okiya) of Pontocho on her way to an engagement.

Source: Wongsarond Menn Suthikulpanich on Instagram

[missmyloko]

What’s In a Name? Part 1

Due to a lack of resources available in English it can be quite hard to find decent and reliable information on maiko and geiko. This is usually due to the posters not knowing any Japanese or not having translations available. I’m not saying that my Japanese is perfect (very far from it), but I know 99% of all kanji used in the karyukai without a second thought. So, I wanted to start explain what some geimei (artist names) mean translated back in English. Most often translations use a newer definition of a kanji whereas the flower and willow world, being as old as it is, tends to use meanings and pronunciations that have been phased out of standardized Japanese. Today we’ll start with a list of the most common that are still used in most (or all) of the 5 Kyoto kagai. Ichi: 市 Prefix or Suffix: Prefix only. Old Meaning: The Number “One”. New (Standardized) Meaning: A Town. Found In: Gion Kobu, Pontocho, and Kamishichiken. I can see how changing “市” to “一” can make things easier counting wise, but I really like the shape of this kanji as it flows nicely in names. Examples: 市笑 Ichiemi (Pontocho): “First Laugh” (simple and easy!) 市照 Ichiteru (Kamishichiken):“First [to] Shine” (which could also translate like the next name...) 市彩 Ichiaya (Pontocho): “First Colors of Dawn” is the best translation I can come up with based on “彩”’s complex and multiple meanings. If you do a search you can usually find it listed as “hues”, “colors”, “happiness”, “lottery” (seriously), or “applause”; a variety of words that don’t really stay on the same subject. Since it would be the “first color” or “first hue” it automatically brings up thoughts of sunrises, so this is why I used the term “dawn”. If not using the name as a color, the other translation that could be used is “First Applause” or “The First to Receive Praise”, 市十美 Ichitomi (Gion Kobu): “First Beautiful Ten” would be the initial translation, but looking at it this way doesn’t make any sense. By counting “市” as a number again, we can make eleven, which would make the name “Beautiful Eleven” or have the eleven represent the month of November, making the name mean “Beautiful November” (which is likely the most correct). November is the second busiest foreign tourism month for Kyoto as the leaves on the trees begin to change and provide a dazzling display of color.  Mame: 豆 Prefix of Suffix: Both Old Meaning: A Bean New (Standardized) Meaning: A Bean Found In: Gion Kobu, Pontocho, Miyagawa Cho, Kamishichiken. One of the only older kanji that doesn’t change and is still commonly used today. The bean flower is fast growing, strong, and has a lovely scent while beans themselves are tossed on New Year’s to bring in fortune for the coming year. Examples: 豆花 Mameka (Gion Kobu): “Bean Flower” (nice and easy!) 豆美 Mameyoshi (Gion Kobu): “Beautiful Bean”. I use this as an example since the “美” kanji, usually pronounced as “mi”, is using the more obscure pronunciation of “yoshi” in this case. 豆千代 Mamechiyo (Multiple Districts): “Thousand Year Bean”, meaning a lucky bean that will bring great fortune for 1,000 years. 芳豆 Yoshimame (Gion Kobu): “Fragrant/Beautiful Bean”, a rare example of “mame” being used as a suffix with a word that doesn’t translate fully into English. In Japanese, “yoshi” (spelled as “芳“)  it’s an all encompassing term that combines the positive aspects of a plant (beauty, scent, vigorous growth, etc.) into one simple word. 豆ちほ Mamechiho (Gion Kobu): ”Bean of Knowledge and Protection” or “Bean of 1,000 Steps” or “The Wise and Supportive Bean” (plus about 20 other mix and match endings). When a name uses some hiragana instead of all kanji the meaning of the name is usually left up to interpretation by the one who bestowed it, or the one who owns it, or even the one who gave it. Names are usually chosen based on stroke count, so using hiragana with kanji can give a girl an interesting and memorable name. Most names with hiragana don’t have this many different mix and match meanings, but it’s a interesting exception to the rule that’s fun to show how diverse names really can be. Kimi: 君 Prefix or Suffix: Prefix Old Meaning: You/your New (Standardized) Meaning: You/your Found In: Gion Kobu, Miyagawa Cho, Pontocho. A simple kanji that hasn’t changed and is still in wide use. Examples: 君香 Kimika (Miyagawa Cho): “Your Incense”, a person who provides a soothing scent that allows you to relax or send wishes and messages to heaven. 君佳 Kimika (Gion Kobu): “Your Beauty”, a person who is beautiful to look at. 君奈 Kimina (Miyagawa Cho): “Your Mystery” or “Your Apple”, today “奈” stands in for “what”, so adding it to a name gives a meaning of “whatever you want” or “a mystery” or more words along those lines. An obsolete meaning of this kanji is “apple” or “apple tree” so I added in the second meaning for the sake of having as much knowledge as possible.  君日絽 Kimihiro (Gion Kobu): “Your Summer Silk”, made a bit difficult since you have to piece together all of the kanji before it makes sense. Before putting them together you’d get “you/yours”, “day/sunshine”, and “a special type of silk used in the summer to keep you from overheating”. Putting them together comes up with a (your) silk to wear in the summer sunshine. Kinda nice and poetic ^^v