February 2nd, 2019: The first day of the annual Setsubun (節分) dedication dances took place today at Yasaka Shrine. I’ll list out the participants later, but for now I just really wanted to focus on this absolutely stunning image of Ichisato (市沙登) of Masunoya (桝之矢) in Pontocho. The colors of her outfit just seem to mesh together so well as the light blue and gold of the kimono contrast with the striking black of the obi and collar. Her hair is done in the Yuiwata (結綿) style that is worn by senior maiko during these celebrations. Ichisato may not be the most senior maiko in her district, but she’s actually the oldest in terms of age! She was 19 when she debuted in March 2017 and is now 21 years old. Pontocho allows for older girls to debut as maiko as long as they will be able to catch up to their peers by the time that they’re 21, which is when a maiko must either turn her collar and become a geiko or retire. Just by looking at this image we can see how much she’s grown in only two years and can hope that her erikae will be coming soon ^^ Image courtesy of KWC Photo.
