#kikumame

[maigeiko]

Inspired by Myloko’s recent Kanzashi spotlight - did you ever wonder what Kanzashi Maiko/Hangyoku (other than in Kyoto) wear in January?  1 - Kagurazaka: Pine (松), pine needles (松葉), plum blossoms (梅), cranes (鶴) 2 - Kagurazaka: Plum blossoms, pine needles, hagoita (羽子板, decorative battledores) 3 - Nara: Silk bobbins (糸巻), pine, plum blossoms 4 - Mukojima: Pine, pine cones (松毬), pine needles 5 - Akita: Pine needles, pine cones, crane 6 - Hachioji: Crane, pine, plum blossoms 7 - Gifu: Bamboo leaves, plum blossoms 8 - Nara: Chrysanthemum blossoms (菊) 9 - Shinbashi: Hagoita, chrysanthemum blossoms

Picture sources 1 - 2 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 9  [3, 8 are from an Insta account which no longer exists. 4 is from Futaba facebook, the exact picture seems to have been deleted]

[missmyloko]

Big News From Nara!

Last night the three Nara maiko held a sudden livestream that had plenty of surprises in store! Most notably were: -Kikue was wearing sakkō! Not only that, but she even had her danpatsu shiki ceremony and will become a geiko in a short time! -Kikunami announced her retirement. She wore kuromontsuki and yohatsu for the occasion and will be leaving at the end of the month.  -Kikumame will continue as a maiko. She will likely switch to ofuku within the coming months.   You can watch a replay of the stream here ^^

[geimei]

Surprise! A new Maiko debuted in Nara today! Her name is Kikumame, and she has been around as a Shikomi for quite a while now, she was in several pictures by Kikuno and Kikukame.

Who of the two her oneesan is, I don’t know. Her older sister Kikue has been around for over 10 months now and seems to be sticking around for longer, let’s hope the same is true for Kikumame!

Source: komninchan on Instagram

[maigeiko]

The short-lived Gifu GeiMaiko Kirin retired (not surprised), new Maiko already in sight (slightly surprised) There are two groups of Geigi/Geiko in Gifu. First, there is the Geigi union. Located in Higashi Kogan-chô district, its members are mostly of veterans of the profession, their online presence is limited, new infos are hard to come by. It’s current head is Geigi Kanako 可奈子, who’s been a Geigi since at least 2008. Last news were that two Maiko debuted in 2018, but it seems they retired meanwhile. Then, there’s the Hôsengiren 鳳川伎連 okiya (located in Tamanoi district). Led by Hôkan Kikuji 喜久次, who has been in this profession since 2009 latest, it has had a constant influx of new Geiko and Maiko. At first, we could follow their carreers on Ameba blogs, now on Instagram. Apart from Kikuhina, who was a Maiko for around 4 years, all of them quit after 1 or 2 years. It seems that Kirin 喜りん retired around May 2021, but hey, a new Maiko is on the horizon already! Kikusuzu 喜久すゞ will debut in November. I already wonder how long she will stay? But let’s not forget about the Geiko and Maiko who brought new life in Gifu’s Hanamachi before and indirectly taught us about their traditions... pictured above: Kikuhina 喜久雛 (2010-14) and Kikuaya 喜久朱 (2012) Kikusato 喜久里 (2014) and Kikutomi 喜久富 (2014-15) Kikuharu 喜久春 (2016) and Kikukazu 喜久勝 (2016-17) Kikumame 喜久豆 (2016-17) and Kikumomo 喜久桃 (2017) Kikumatsu きく松 (2018-19) and Kirin 喜りん (2020-21) 

[maigeiko]

A follow-up on Kikumame: she is still around and became a senior Maiko few days ago (14. or 15. August 21). Notice that her Tegara (the triangular piece of fabric) has a light colour? I know that in Kyoto, senior Maiko start out with a red Tegara and in Gifu, it seems to alternate between light-coloured and red (from memory, I don’t know other cities where senior Maiko wear Ofuku).

[maigeiko]

Nara: Kikumame retired

According to mainichi.jp, Kikumame retired on 31. October 2021. The current pandemic has hit everyone hard, Geiko and Maiko all over Japan saw a drastic drop in work opportunities.  Nara Geiko Kikuno established a Youtube channel to motivate her Maiko and inform other people about the life of the Nara GeiMaiko. “However, the reality that she had no work even after practicing for about two years was harsh for young Kikumame. She was gradually deprived of motivation and decided to quit at the end of October.“ The article further states that Kikumame is considering to become a piano teacher.

[maigeiko]

How long has Kikumame-san of Nara been a maiko for?

She debuted on 9. March 2019, so not counting her break in late 2019/early 2020, she has been a Maiko for 2 years and 3 months now.

[missmyloko]

March 9th, 2019: Congratulations to Kikumame (菊まめ) in Nara on the occasion of her misedashi! She has been around as a shikomi for quite some time now, so her sudden misedashi seems well deserved! She is most likely the imōto of Kikukame (菊亀), which is a great fit as they’re as close as real sisters! おめでとうさんどす菊まめちゃん ^o^! Image courtesy of Megumu Tanigawa.