Can People See Geisha In Town? How About In Tokyo?

Although it would be one of the most well-known icons of Japanese culture, Geisha has all but vanished. In few old towns such as Kyoto, Geisha business and system are still working, and it is possible to see Geisha and Maiko-girls (who are on the training to be Geisha), but not possible in other parts of Japan although you may be able to find some "Geisha Shows".

Real Geisha are clearly in declining and it appears this profession may be extinct shortly. Even though it is the biggest city and the capital of Japan, Tokyo is not an exception. Today, you can't expect to see Geisha walking in town. Then where can we go to have a chance to see these rare ladies?

First of all, Geisha have always worked in limited small districts. Each Geisha belongs to one of the traditional districts and works wothin, and Geisha have been called and distinguished with the name of  their own district, such as Shinbashi-geisha, Kagurazaka-geisha, and Mukojima-geisha, and so on. However, even if go to one of the areas to see Geisha, it wouldn't be easy to see them in these days due to the small number of Geisha employed.

As I introduced in my post previously on the July 2nd and 4th, Hachioji City in West Tokyo is actually one of the few districts in Tokyo where Geisha are still working, although this is not well-known well even among Japanese. Apparently Hachioji-geisha almost disappeared once in the past but some locals made lots of effort to revive the culture, and the numbers are recovering recently. There was even a debut of a new Hangyoku (it is the name for the young girls who are on training to be Geisha in Tokyo area) recently, for the first time in 50 years.

The photos were all taken at the "Hachioji Matsuri (Hachioji Festival)" in the August 2015. This local festival is usually held in the first weekend (through Fri-Sun) of August and you can see Hachioji-geisha showing their dance in the evening of the first day!