Sep 17, 2024
Tondaya Yachiyo with Maple Leaf Kanzashi 1902
Yachiyo began her career as a maiko (apprentice geisha) at the Kagaya teahouse in the Horie geisha district of Osaka. In the year 1900, the Kagaya teahouse closed, and Yachiyo, who was still only 13 years old, was recruited by the Tondaya geisha house in the Sōemon-chō geisha district of Osaka. Considered, clever, cute, and immensely talented, Tondaya Yachiyo quickly rose through the ranks to become a meigi (famous geisha).
