In my efforts to locate more of the different geisha communities around Japan, I managed to find that there is in fact geisha living in Nagoya! Nagoya is one of those cities that are less often visited in Japan. But it is easily travelled to from Kyoto or Osaka via the train. Using the shinkansen, one can easily get there from Tokyo as well.
I was impressed to see the quality of the web presence of Nagoya geisha. They have a very nice, professional website and while it is in Japanese, you can use Google Translate to find out what it says. But it seems that the Geisha of Nagoya work under a company called "Meigiren". It seems to be the name of an okiya where Geisha are trained. But they seem to be taking full advantage of online technology to publicise what they do! There are experiences which you could normally book for online outside of covid times. They also seem to add content to a Youtube channel for local performers. You can also see a page that shows you the terminology relevant to hiring geisha.
But even if you can't visit physically for now, it seems that the geisha of Nagoya have worked to make themselves knowable from afar. It seems that some of the geisha have bothered to open Instagram accounts!
Services you can book for with Meigiren seem to vary according to pricing and situation. These are as follows: Geisha Banquet Experience at a Former Samurai's Residence with Kaiseki-Ryouri - from 114456.22 JPY
" Ryotei Kawabun " Cultural Night - Visit Nagoya - 15,000 JPY
But finally, I would like to show you the name cards of all of the geisha, along with English translations of what a few of the cards say!
"Kinmaru - Mother of the geisha group. She works hard with basic equipment and instructors and manages money for the geisha house. She pays the shamisen. She was a maiko who became a geiko."
"Katsuko - She got her name when Shinkansen first started running and kept her natural name. Her sisters were both geisha, and so she became geisha too out of filial piety."
"Fukumatsu - Fukumatsu got her name from a Geisha mother whose name was Fukuchiyo. To inherit fortune it was changed to Fukumatsu."
"Maiko - Maiko got her name from Toshiori Nunohisa, who became a maiko. Her favourite forms of performance are dance and drumming."
"Kikuwaka - The reason for the name of this geisha is that she was invited by a friend who became a maiko. She is good at dancing, drumming and being a maiko."
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