#jimae

[maigeiko]

Congratulations to Shichitarô from Asakusa, who became independent on 3rd December 2025 and took over Sakuragawa Okiya from her older brother Yoneshichi.

I find it interesting that she is dressed completely in black, whereas her fellow Hokan Shichisuke, who also became independent this year, wore a colourful green and pink outfit

[missmyloko]

Weekend Update 10/7

I was really tired last night so I held off posting until today ^^; Karyukai News -Satsuki (紗月) of Tsurui (つる居) in Gion Kobu is officially jimae! She made the announcement on her Instagram account yesterday ^^ -Miyabi Kai (みやび会) took place on Friday (July 7th). -As of today all senior maiko in each kagai will be wearing the katsuyama hairstyle and all maiko of every rank will be wearing the special Gion Festival kanzashi. I’ll try to post a picture of 2017′s design later ^^ -Kanayuki (叶幸) of Toshikimi (利きみ) in Miyagawa Cho has switched to ofuku and is now a senior! Blog News -The Random Fact of The Week looked at Katsuyama. -Mylo’s Pick of The Week went to Mameharu (まめ春) of Tama (多麻) in Gion Kobu. -We took a look at senior geiko Mamezuru (まめ鶴) of Kineya (きねや) in Gion Kobu. -The amount of questions asked this week was staggering! Thank you to everyone who sent in such thoughtful inquiries! I’ll be working on another feature tonight, so please look forward to it ^^

[geimei]

Shouldn't Satsuki be a Jimae now? She still has the nemaki/wings at the back but it's already been well over a year (and isn't that Gion Kobu's requirement after a year)?

Someone asked missmyoloko a similar question just yesterday, and a while back, she was also asked about it and speculated about the reasons a bit.

It was said that Satsuki would become jimae after the Miyako Odori, but almost two months have passed and her nemaki still haven’t been cut-off.

It was speculated that the she might not be able to find a suitable place to live, but Satsuki is one of the best earning Geiko in Kyoto, so I doubt that it would take her more than two years to find an appartment.

Then, it was speculated that she wanted to stay in the okiya to stay around Mitsuki, her imouto, to make it easier for both of them to guide her. Mitsuki has already completed her first year as a Maiko in March and has really started to blossom, so I also don’t think that this could be a plausible reason (anymore).

I can only think of one more possibility, and that is that Satsuki might become the atatori, the heir, to the Tsurui Okiya. As an atatori, she would continue to live in the okiya, but she’d also have to be legally adopted by the Tsurui okaasan, and all of the paperwork can take a long time to complete, which would explain the over two years Satsuki has already been a Geiko without becoming jimae. Also, this might have not been clear from the start - the decision might have been made a year after she became a Geiko or a little earlier.

However, this is all just speculation and it has not been proven. I don’t know the real reason and don’t want anyone to state this as a fact or think that it is a fact. There is no explanation for Satsuki not being independent yet, but maybe we’ll get it in the future.

[maigeiko]

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4. November 2025: Niigata Tomesode-san Kikuno 菊乃 (debuted 2013) became independent of Ryuto Shinko and is now operating Inayoshi いな美 Okiya. All independent Geigi are operating their own Okiya, although (as far as I know) every new debut since 1987 is an employee of Ryuto Shinko before becoming independent.

[maigeiko]

Asakusa Hokan Shichisuke 七助 became independent today! His newly established Okiya is called "Iroha-ya" いろは家. Shichisuke has been working as a Hokan for over 20 years already. At the moment, there are six Hokan in Asakusa (Yoneshichi 米七, Tamahachi 玉八, Shichiko 七好, Shichisuke 七助, Shichitarô 七太郎 and Hachiko 八好).

Source: Asakusa Geisha, current insta story

[maigeiko]

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A post shared by 堀井 英子 (@hidekohorii)

Kagurazaka Koyû 小陽 in April 2025 Koyû celebrated the 5th anniversary of her debut this September. According to Eiko (who runs the linked instagram account), Kagurazaka Geisha are allowed to become independent of their debut Okiya 5 years after their debut, and that's what Koyû did. She is now head of her own Okiya (the name is not mentioned).

[missmyloko]

Random Fact of The Week 13/5

A day delayed this week due to social etiquette requirements, but here nonetheless! When not attending my social obligations I’ve been working hard on an all new tab that I hinted at a bit last week, and I’m happy to say that it’s coming along well. It’s part information, part tribute to a dear friend, and I hope that you all enjoy it once it’s launched. If you’re really good at guessing you may be able to figure out the URL, but I’ll leave it at that for now ^^; Anyway, onto the facts! You can tell if a geiko is jimae or not by looking at her obiage! A non-jimae geiko’s obiage will remain red with silver leaf patterns that look very similar to a maiko’s (albeit not as busy). Once a geiko is jimae she will then switch to a plain red obiage. Over time the obiage will become lighter in color, just like her juban, but a red obiage will always be worn to formal events.  In some areas that have a longer grace period on jimae, like Miyagawa Cho, a geiko may switch to a lighter colored obiage before she is independent. So, this isn’t a concrete rule for all non-jimae geiko, but it’s still a really good identifier of who’s a new geiko and who is not ^^