When Kiyoha Kiritaka left Kyoto’s geisha district in 2016, she was escaping what she now calls “a system of slavery”, exposing a darker reality behind one of Japan’s most celebrated traditions.
Kiritaka entered the geisha world as a teenager, drawn to its traditional arts. She practised Japanese dance, the shamisen (a Japanese stringed instrument) and the tea ceremony, hoping one day to become a fully fledged geisha.
But after just over a year as a maiko – an apprentice geisha – she says she found herself trapped in what she describes as an “extremely abnormal world”.
Her path began in junior high school. Aspiring to become a fashion model, she joined a talent agency and performed in underground idol groups and local shows.
Her interests shifted after she discovered Japanese dance. Watching a master perform at a studio, she recalls being mesmerised by the fluidity of the movements – “an almost unbelievable smoothness, like something a real person wouldn’t do”, she says.
Kiyoha Kiritaka takes part in an event showcasing geisha culture in Kyoto in 2016. Photo: Kyodo
In the spring of her final year of junior high school, a man approached her after a recital.
AloJapan.com