Secret Gion

The other day I went to Kyoto with three colleagues from work to look at Miyako Odori.

This is a spring festival in Kyoto's geisha district Gion and translates as "Dances of the Old Capital". For about a month, Gion's Maiko (apprentice geisha - people in Kyoto generally say Maiko-san) and Geiko (Kyoto term for "geisha") give a seasonal dance performance - three times a day. While this must be pretty exhausting for them, for foreigners it is a brilliant opportunity to experience this aspect of Japanese culture in an uncomplicated and comparatively inexpensive way.

Gion was extremely busy during the festival. The narrow streets were packed with local and foreign tourists and policemen who tried to keep them in line. Still, I could not help but notice again how pretty this distirct is. Gion easily is one of the most beautiful and most "Asian" looking urban landscapes in all of Japan. Everything is kept looking traditional so in some areas you might forget you're actually living in the 21st century - others are as touristy as it gets though. Still, since the narrow alleys are lined with little ochaya (tea houses) that are closed to general visitors, no matter how often you visit, you always feel that the "real" Gion is happening behind closed doors.

We arrived at the theatre an hour early. My colleague had booked a "tea ceremony combination ticket" for Miyako Odori, so before we entered the hall we got served tea and mochi by a Maiko-san along with about 40 other people. Not exactly a tea ceremony and more than a tad touristy, but I got swept along by everybody's enthusiasm.



The dance performance consists of various parts, each expressing a different season. So the props and dancer's costumes change accordingly. All dances tell a story from popular Japanese folklore. All parts are played by women (as opposed to Kabuki or Noh where all parts are played by men).
Taking pictures during the dance performance was prohibited but you can check out official photos here:
http://www.miyako-odori.jp/odori_en.html


We left Gion after the performance to refresh and have dinner and came back in the evening. The tourists had all but gone. The doors were still closed.
My colleague had a contact at one of the nomiyas (drinkeries) that usually deny entry to first-timers and are accessible only via introduction by an existing customer. He rang at one of the tiny-looking wooden doors at the side of the alley. The shop had no advertising, no menu propped up, only the name of the Geiko in residence was written above the door. The door was opened and we were greeted by the kimono-clad okaasan ("Mum")  and led into an unexpectedly spacious and modern interior.
From outside the house had looked tiny, but entering it was like entering a cave. The place looked like a very stylish Japanese-style snack bar, but the seediness usually characteristic of such establishments was missing. The furnishing was very sleek and modern and all seats overlooked a tiny Japanese garden through a huge glass window. Just looking at the place was relaxing - it got even more so once the expensive whiskey started rolling in.

Entering this hidden part of Japan was like entering a parallel universe. The customers frequenting the place were all local "characters". Artists, CEOs and their foreign business partners, would-be TV personalities et. al toasted each other and handed out business cards. Some of them were accompanied by a Maiko or Geiko who bowed down deeply before their more senior peers and addressed them as "big sister" but demonstrated a no-nonsense attitude when it came to their clients. The host and hostess were dressed in kimonos and, like the Maiko, spoke exclusively in Kyoto dialect. The room was filled with soft Japanese vocal music.

After this enchanting albeit expensive evening I stumbled out into a real-world taxi feeling puzzled and a little bit embarrassed. Just when you think you know Japan you come across new worlds you need to make sense of all over again.