Meet the maiko

“I am sorry,no English,” she says with a smile. These are among the few English words she knows. Then,for a moment she lets drop the facade of formaility and breaks into a fit of giggle. The language barrier notwithstanding,the teenager is eager to converse.

Currently on her first trip to India as part of the Cool Japan festival that ends today,Korin (she doesn’t use her last name) is,in fact,a maiko. “Maiko is an apprentice geisha,the traditional female Japanese entertainers. We entertain through Japanese classical music and dance,” Korin explains through the emcee Yuko,who acts as her interpreter when required.

The differences between a maiko and a geisha,she says,are many. Japanese culture strictly observes hierarchy and Korin says that the same is applicable in her world too. As a maiko,her obi belt falls as a drape at the back unlike a Geisha’s,who wears it tied up. Also,while the latter wear wigs,maikos spend over an hour getting their hair done,which lasts them for a week. “My regular workday begins at 4pm and goes on till midnight. When I retire for the day,I remove my hair accessories,makeup and attire. But my hairdo has to stay intact as we are allowed to get our hair done only once in a week. We use a special pillow to ensure that the hairdo remains intact,” she adds.

The apprenticeship itself is a lengthy process that lasts anything between two to five years. Korin’s eyes light up as she recalls how she pursued her Geisha ambitions. “Aspiring geishas are usually introduced by practising ones. But since I didn’t know anyone from the profession,I applied online to an okia—the lodging house where maikos and geishas stay for the length of their career—in Kyoto. When I got selected two years ago,at the age of 15,to become a maiko,I had to move out of my home,which is in a small town in the Kochi Prefecture to the city of Kyoto.”

Kyoto then,serves as a training ground where geishas and maikos learn dancing,singing,playing the tsuzumi and taiko drums and Sadou,the traditional Japanese tea preparing ceremony.

Korin is still three years away from completing her training in these arts but her grace and poise are evident in her performance where she switches effortlessly from one song about the different seasons of Kyoto to another about a heartbreak. “I am glad the training has paid off so well; the audience in Mumbai has been very kind. But this is just the beginning and I have so much more to learn,” she says.