Maiko and geiko perform at very exclusive banquet facilities known as ochaya, often translated literally as 'teahouse'.Here we entertain regularly at private parties for select groups of invited patrons. We also appear publicly in a series of annual performance events. The most famous of these is the Miyako Odori (Cherry Dances). The dance programmes are quite spectacular and draw enthusiastic audiences from all over the world. The Miyako Odori takes place during the month of April in our own special theatre, the Kaburenjo.There is much mystery and misunderstanding about what it means to be a geisha or, in my case, a geiko. I hope my story will help explain what it is really like and also serve as a record of this unique component of Japan's cultural history.

Emerging from her hiding place, Mineko encounters Madam Oima, the formidable proprietress of a prolific geisha house in Gion. Madam Oima is mesmerized by the childs black hair and black eyes: she has found her successor.And so Mineko is gently, but firmly, prised away from her parents to embark on an extraordinary profession, of which she will become the best.But even if you are exquisitely beautiful and the darling of the okiya, the life of a geisha is one of gruelling demands. And Mineko must first contend with her bitterly jealous sister who is determined to sabotage her success...Captivating and poignant, Geisha of Gion tells of Minekos ascendancy to fame and her ultimate decision to leave the profession she found so constricting. After centuries of mystery Mineko is the only geisha to speak out. This is the true story she has long wanted to tell and the one that the West has long wanted to hear.