Back to the pretty streets of Kyoto we went to experience the annual geisha dances at Miyako Odori theatre (the most famous of geisha shows).
So many restaurants and homes have these fabric hangings across their doorways - I still wonder what they mean!
We found the theatre with relative ease(given our track record).
Geiko (arts child) and Maiko (apprentices). Having enough money to pay for a private geisha party isn't enough, you need an introduction from an existing client also to gain admittance to that exclusive world. SO these shows provide an opportunity for the 'less privileged' to see the performances.
Again,no photo's were allowed, so we took some of the inside but that was about it.
The side walkways were used as much as the stage, and just behind the side walkways, lines of Geiko played interesting instruments and chanted/sang in Japanese the entire time.
We didn't take these, but they are from the same show. (I know because the outfits are handmade each year). The show itself was beautiful. There were seven dances, all short stories (don't ask me what about) which follow through the seasons. They were almost a long series of poses held for a few seconds at a time, 28 Geiko (apparently as the prefer to be called) in perfect unison, although there were usually only 4-8 on stage at a time.
On the way home, we got the train as usual - bonus! It was a double decker :D
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