[/floatr]Mainichi: First Shimbashi apprentice geisha since WWII make debut
Two apprentice geisha girls have made their debut in Tokyo's Shimbashi entertainment district, marking the first time geisha in training have appeared there since the end of World War II. The two -- Kimijiro, 20, from Nagoya and Kimitsuru, 19, from Ichikawa, Chiba Prefecture -- are expected to enliven the old entertainment district, which has been hard hit by the ongoing recession...Also dubbed "Maiko" in Kyoto and "Hangyoku" in Tokyo, "Oshaku-san" entertain customers in formal Japanese-style rooms while clad in long-sleeved kimono, wearing white makeup and with their hair dressed with floral hairpins. Before the war, Shimbashi was home to about 30 young Oshaku-san, including girls in their early teens. However, legal restrictions implemented after the war -- including the law regulating adult entertainment businesses and the Child Welfare Law -- limited the age of those who can serve as such entertainers to 18 or over...Now living in a geisha house called "Kikumorikawa" in Shimbashi, the two geisha apprentices train themselves hard in traditional Japanese arts, such as shamisen, hand drums, tea ceremony and flower arrangement...As Kimitsuru had never struck a match before, she had to practice all day long to be able to light a cigarette with matches...more...
