#kikumomo

[kayzowl]

merry oofmas briarrrrr, are you sick of me yet >:D @aliosne @oofurixmas

I immediately latched on to your spies/assassins suggestion as well as kikumomo, so in this AU Kikue and Momoe are competent spies both training up their (currently incompetent) protégées. Momoe and Abe don't know yet that Hanai is Kikue's son... it will be a big third act twist, so shhh, keep it a secret.

Izumi and Mizutani make gadgets and do man-in-the-chair stuff for them back at hq, probably overseen by Shiga because otherwise they would get nothing done, ever. (That is mostly a lie, they are both competent, they just also horse around approximately 110% of the time. maybe sakaeguchi and the rest of the team can also be there with various specializations. hamada did not finish the training so he is an information broker on the outside that they use all the time)

They get a mission to investigate a (short, loud, filterless) star athlete after he shows up a bunch around some longtime enemies and they start wondering if he's a target or a recruit or a third worse thing, and his teammate with horrible social anxiety ends up getting caught up in all the drama, as well. :)

[maigeiko]

The short-lived Gifu GeiMaiko Kirin retired (not surprised), new Maiko already in sight (slightly surprised) There are two groups of Geigi/Geiko in Gifu. First, there is the Geigi union. Located in Higashi Kogan-chô district, its members are mostly of veterans of the profession, their online presence is limited, new infos are hard to come by. It’s current head is Geigi Kanako 可奈子, who’s been a Geigi since at least 2008. Last news were that two Maiko debuted in 2018, but it seems they retired meanwhile. Then, there’s the Hôsengiren 鳳川伎連 okiya (located in Tamanoi district). Led by Hôkan Kikuji 喜久次, who has been in this profession since 2009 latest, it has had a constant influx of new Geiko and Maiko. At first, we could follow their carreers on Ameba blogs, now on Instagram. Apart from Kikuhina, who was a Maiko for around 4 years, all of them quit after 1 or 2 years. It seems that Kirin 喜りん retired around May 2021, but hey, a new Maiko is on the horizon already! Kikusuzu 喜久すゞ will debut in November. I already wonder how long she will stay? But let’s not forget about the Geiko and Maiko who brought new life in Gifu’s Hanamachi before and indirectly taught us about their traditions... pictured above: Kikuhina 喜久雛 (2010-14) and Kikuaya 喜久朱 (2012) Kikusato 喜久里 (2014) and Kikutomi 喜久富 (2014-15) Kikuharu 喜久春 (2016) and Kikukazu 喜久勝 (2016-17) Kikumame 喜久豆 (2016-17) and Kikumomo 喜久桃 (2017) Kikumatsu きく松 (2018-19) and Kirin 喜りん (2020-21) 

[aya-aya-aya-aya-blog]

Day 98. June Summer  Shanghai |  Amygdalus persica ‘Kikumomo’ 菊花桃

[honeyandherb]

KIKUMOMO (Amygdalus persica cv. Stellata) Being to watch your breath.

[maigeiko]

Spotlight on Tatsuji/Kikuji please!!!

Kikuji (喜久次) has been a Hôkan for over 10 years now. His blog has been running since 2009. During this time, six Maiko and four Geiko debuted in his Okiya. NHK once produced a dorama with Kikuji serving as model for the main character. Before Tatsuji's debut, he was the only Hôkan in whole Japan (his equivalents in Tokyo prefer to be called Taikomochi), making his profession about as rare as that of a Tayû (2 Hôkan+6 Taikomochi in 2019, compared with 8 Tayû and hundreds of Geiko and Maiko).

Tatsuji (辰次) debuted on the same day as Geiko Kikumomo (喜久桃) on 1. June 2017. He became popular quickly, participating in photoshoots with Kyoto GeiMaiko in July 2018 and March 2019.

In order to be a Hôkan in Gifu, the minimum age is 17. Half a year of training before the debut. Arts that are taught include dance (i. e. Kin no Shachihoko), Ozashiki games (i. e. Konpira fune fune) and instruments (Narimono, three kinds of Fue, Shamisen).

Sources: recruiting and training info https://profile.ameba.jp/ameba/kikuzy/

Kin no Shachihoko https://ameblo.jp/kikuzy/entry-12290331093.html

Konpira fune fune https://ameblo.jp/greenrose1/entry-12350485544.html

Picture with Kikuhina + Tatsuji Misedashi from my harddrive

Photoshoot 2018 https://www.instagram.com/p/BlhPmJ9lAQQ/ 

Photoshoot 2019 https://www.instagram.com/p/BvGDCQugU2j/

Kikuji+Tatsuji Kuromontsuki https://www.asahi.com/articles/ASL1335S9L13OHGB002.html

[maigeiko]

Gifu News, July 2017 edition

Kikukatsu 喜久勝 is now a Geiko!

Kikukatsu became a Maiko on 20. May 2016, followed by Kikumame on 23th May. The last time I saw a photo of her was in November 2016 and it looks like she wore a white collar there!

Irwin Wong wrote an article on “the last Maiko in Gifu”, Kikumame, in March 2017, so Kikukatsu had her Erikae somewhen between November 2016 and March 2017.

This was discovered recently, when photos of an event in May 17 appeared.

Kikumame 喜久豆  is now a senior Maiko! You can see a picture of her performing with the new Geiko Kikumomo and Kikuji here.

Kikumomo 喜久桃 is a new Geiko in Gifu, her Misedashi took place in June 2017 together with Tatsuji 辰次 who officially became a hôkan.

[maigeiko]

Undocumented changes, February 2019 edition

Hello followers, more than half a year has passed since my last “undocumented changes” post. It’s time for something new!

Akita: gained two new Maiko in 2018: Kanofuji 佳乃藤 and Otoha 緒叶羽. Koyumi 小代美 has retired around November 2018. There are currently at least two Geiko in Akita: Someryô 染龍 (since 2017 at least) and Wakayû 若勇.

As for Someryô, she has some similarity with the retired Maiko Chiyoka, so at first I thought Chiyoka became a Geiko. [Edit Oct. 19: In fact, Someryô is called Someryû and is working independently, not affiliated with the "Akita Maiko" business]

Wakayû is quite old, she might have been a Geiko for some decades. However, when the Akita Maiko business was established in 2014, it was said that there were no Geiko at all left in Akita. Who knows. [Edit: Wakayû is a once-retired Geiko who came back in 2018, so the statement that no Geiko were left in Akita is true]

Regarding Atami, it’s hard to find out who comes, who goes and what their names are. My last reliable source was the Atami Odori 2005 program and somebody who posted infos on flickr in 2013 [Edit Oct. 19: and then started a huge drama because she was not a “Geisha fan”, deleted all her Atami Geigi photos, her flickr and tsurukomaiko account and vanished from the surface of the earth]. Now, since 2018, I know that the Atami Geiko kenban is on instagram and there are lots of pictures. Seldomly with names. I have learned of the following Geiko: Hiroki 宏紀 (since 2018), Ichiyo or Kazuyo 一代 (since 2017), Konatsu 小夏 (since 2016), Kotochiyo 琴千代 (since 2016) and Emichiyo (also since 2016).

Gifu: No sign of Kikukazu 喜久勝, Kikumame 喜久豆, Kikumomo 喜久桃 and Kikusato 喜久里 since 2017 (or even longer). I guess they can count as retired. [Edit Aug 20: yes, all of them retired.]

Kanazawa: Geigi Rin 凛, Kotarô and Kotono こと乃 plus jikata Geigi Kyôko 京子 have retired. However, there are two new Geigi named Shino 紫乃 and Tsuru つる, who debuted around September 2018. [Edit Oct. 19: Shino retired in July already. Tsuru is still around]

Ôsaka: three Geiko will debut in the Nanchi gokagai this year. Currently, they are Minarai. Their names are: Tamakô 玉幸, Tamizuru 多美鶴 and Yaezuru 八重鶴. 

Shizuoka: Maiko Neneko ねね子, who debuted in 2014, has retired.

[aya-aya-aya-aya-blog]

Day 98. June Summer  Shanghai |  Amygdalus persica ‘Kikumomo’ 菊花桃