It’s been a while since the last book feature on this blog. The collection has grown, maybe you are also interested in Gei-/Maiko related books and find this helpful.
Category 1: Japanese only or Japanese with only little English
…Hiroshi Mizobuchi - Showa no Gion: b&w photos depicting life in Gion Kobu in the 1970’s and 80’s. Captions are entirely in Japanese, but easy to translate, since they are mostly dates and names. At the end of the book, there are few pictures from the 1930’s and 40’s.
…Sumi Asahara - Tokyo Rokkagai: Interviews with Tokyo Geisha, history and map of the main six Tokyo Kagai, old and new photos. Books on the subject of Tokyo Geisha are fairly rare, so this is a good source of information.
…Hiroshi Mizobuchi - Hannari Kyo Maiko no Shiki: photos of the seasonal events and celebrations in the Kyoto Hanamachi, with Map and full Ochaya list.
…Keiko Tanaka - Nihongami taizen: despite featuring Maiko Fukuno on it’s cover, only a little part of it deals with Maiko Nihongami. It has a bit of Tayu/Sumo/new Nihongami as well, the largest part however is focusing on the various historical hairstyles displayed at the Kushi Matsuri.
…Kobunshi Katsura - Showa Meigiren: featuring portraits of 228 senior Geisha in the late Showa period. Some of them worked in Hanamachi that no longer exist, 31 of them are still active in 2022.
…Tetsuo Ishihara - Maiko no kamigata: showing Maiko hairstyles, how to tie them, Kanzashi calendar, Pocchiri showcase, and a Maiko getting dressed
…Tetsuo Ishihara - Kyo Shimabara Tayu: similar to Maiko no Kamigata, but focusing on Tayu hairstyles. Contains a little overview about the then-current Tayû and some of their activities around the year.
…Hiroshi Mizobuchi - Gion, the world of stylish parties: Photos by HM (mostly Gei/Maiko, but also some Hanamachi architecture and food), Maiko illustrations, old (Taisho/early Showa) photos of Gion Kobu Gei-/Maiko and interviews with selected Gei/Maiko and Karyukai workers.
…Noboru Hamaoka - Gion to Maiko: mostly b/w photos, some colour photos featuring people who live in the Karyûkai: including Gei-/Maiko, dance teachers and hairdressers, Gion’s cityscape, Kanzashi and Okiya interior. More text than photos.
…Hiroshi Mizobuchi - Kyo Miyagawacho: Photo book, bit of history, events through the year. “History of Miyagawacho” by the then head of the Ochaya Union fully translated to English, otherwise the main content is in Japanese. Miyagawacho map and Ochaya list on the last pages.
…Hiroshi Mizobuchi - Kyo Pontocho: similar to Kyo Miyagawacho, but smaller format and less text
…Hiroshi Mizobuchi - Gion Mai Goyomi: HM photos on abysmal tiny pages. Can’t recommend. Heard there are two editions of this, that differ, so maybe the other one is bigger?
Category 2: English or Japanese with full English translation in the same book.
…Liza Dalby - Geisha: LD lived in Kyoto and worked with Pontocho Geiko in the 1970′s. In this book, you can read about her experiences
…Kikuya - I, a Geisha: written by an Akasaka Geisha, has infos about her profession, some infos about the history of selected Tokyo Hanamachi.
…various - Geisha: beyond the painted smile: lots of text but only little content. Few nice photos. Only worth buying if it’s really cheap.
…John Paul Foster - Geisha and Maiko of Kyoto: portraits of and interviews with several Gei/Maiko, studded with anecdotes of JPF’s experiences as photographer in Kyoto.
…Percival Perkins - Geisha of Pontocho: Experiences with Pontocho Geiko and Maiko in the 1950’s and short biographies of selected GeiMaiko.
…Kyoko Aihara - Geisha: good and basic book from the late 1990′s focusing on Hanamachi life in Kyoto. You can spot some familiar faces of Geiko who were Maiko then, or Geiko who just retired recently.
…Mineko Iwasaki - Geisha of Gion: autobiography of one of the most famous Kyoto Geiko, including anecdotes from her elders (for example, concering life in the Hanamachi during WWII)
…John Paul Foster - now a Geisha: while “Geisha and Maiko of Kyoto” offers a rather broad spectre of topics, this is focused on the change from Maiko to Geiko: Sakko and Erikae. JPF portrays three Maiko, then Geiko during this time of transition.
…Kazuhiko Matsumura - Subtle Beauty: originally a photo essay published in a newspaper. It’s about Maiko and Geiko from the five Kyoto Hanamachi in all stages of their carreers.
…Hiroshi Mizobuchi - the Kagai in Kyoto: probably the only HM book mostly translated to English. Apart from being an updated version of books like “Kyoto Gion, Kyoto Pontocho, Kyoto Miyagawacho”, an entire chapter is dedicated to Satsukis way from Shikomi to Geiko.
…Taka Kobayashi - Utsuyaka: full-page photos of Kosen (Gion Kobu) with only little text. The book itself is a pretty large format, so you can have a good look at her outfits.
…Kelly Foreman - the Gei of Geisha: densely packed with information on around 250 pages, concerning arts, economy and the social aspects of being a Geisha.
…Sayo Masuda - Autobiography of a Geisha: SM endured a lot of abuse from childhood on, was sold to an Okiya in Kamisuwa Onsen at the age of 12 and worked as a Geisha until she was “bought” by a patron around 1939.
Category 3: originally published in Japanese, available in lots of different languages, but not English.
…Kiharu Nakamura - Memoiren einer Geisha: KH worked as Geisha in Shinbashi for around 2 years in the early 1930′s. Only around 20% of the whole book deal with her time before retirement, so the title is a bit misleading. Nevertheless, it’s a nice source of information on pre-war Shinbashi.
This took me longer than expected, but it was so fun to draw YUKKE! It’s also my first time drawing him which is outrageous (I’ve never drawn Miya either wtfff) 😭 he’s not only an incredible bassist, but such a sweet person 💜
So in case you haven't heard, there's a really good Fangan that's been dropping episodes every weekend called Danganronpa: (He)Artless Deceit. It's only got 4 episodes, each around 20-30 minutes but so far it's been an incredible experience. Below the cut are my opinions on the characters based on introductions and predictions for their possible role in the story. I may make a seperate post for theories on the mastermind when the prologue is completed. Spoilers below!!
So first let's cover our protagonist, the Ultimate Rizzler herself, Akira Hayasaka. Firstly, I absolutely love that she has such a distinct, vivid personality that really contrasts her against other protagonists. Also, her double talent is interesting, especially seeing as one is so dangerous and criminal. I think she'll end up having some kind of solidarity with Kyouran as they have criminal talents and I think she's set up to foil Izanami, as Akira's talent and Izanami's beliefs conflict. I absolutely adore her interactions with Tomoya, they're such a funny duo.
Speaking of Tomoya, he's definitely in my top five favourite characters. He's just so funny, his sprites are over the top and you just can't help but love him despite his huge ego. I've seen theories that he and Shion switched talents, which actually sounds pretty plausible, as I'd imagine an Ultimate Therapist to avoid huge conflicts with others. If you ask me, it sounds like he needs to be recieving therapy more than administering it. Either way, it's fun to bully him.
Rei Fukuno is such an interesting character, I would've expected her to be an easy target given her blindness but her personality definitely shows that she'd be more likely to be a culprit than a victim, after all who'd suspect the small, weak blind girl with a useful talent that has potential to be used against the cast?
I don't have particularly strong feelings for Takeshi? It may be that his design doesn't appeal much to me, but his personality depicted in the wiki makes me like him a little more. I hope to see more of that caring side of him.
Otome is a character I sympathise with, I know how easy it can be to lose your temper and act irrationally grumpy when you're tired. I predict that she'll be an early death, I think a manga artist's execution would be cool to see though, so hoping for culprit. Now that she doesn't have to worry about deadlines, I can see her chilling out and coming out of her shell throughout the story.
I absolutely LOVE Itsumi, her design, her personality it's just... whhdiwjwhw. I feel so bad for her, dealing with nasty comments from strangers. If she dies I will ugly cry hard on the cold hard floor. Also, where can I get that hoodie??? I want one so bad.
Satoru is so suspiscious but I can't help but love him. He's just like me fr honestly. Given his wiki bio, he seems to be an entertaining person to listen to, so I think he'll hold some sway in the trials. Plus, if you've watched the trailers you'd know that he has one of the famous "unhinged" sprites. I think he has potential for a bigger role later on.
Honestly Shion is so cute and I love her personality. I think there'll be tension between the twins as I think their parents are divorced? Either way I think she has a higher possibility of dying than Tomoya.
I absolutely love Kiyoshi, he's so cute and I love the puppets. As much as I want him to survive, I think an Ultimate Puppeteer execution would be amazing and I would cry if he died. Like a lot of other people I believe that he might be trans, which may be why he dislikes his feminine appearance. If he is, it will probably play a part in the story, perhaps in a motive like the secret one?
Katsuhiko is such a fun character, sure he's the "sensible" one but how easy to annoy personality will definitely lead to shennanigans, probably led by Hideyoshi.
I love delinquents who become better people, so I love Hideyoshi. I think he and Katsuhiko will become the new Ishimondo which probably means that they'll meet a grizzly fate. Either way, hope to see more of him.
Izanami is just so HgauwhshaiJJuHRauiwuw. She's so pretty and she looks like a fairytale princess???? I think she's already being set up to be an antagonist, she dislikes "sinners" and seems to be suspiscious of Akira already. I think she's going to be a culprit, possibly killing Kyouran as he's another character I imagine she'd dislike.
Speaking of, Kyouran is probably my favourite at the moment. I love Robin Hood style characters and there's definitely more to him than meets the eye. Plus, his design is super cool and he reminds me of a victorian era thief.
Chiemi is also another favourite of mine, I can't believe how cute and kind she is! I can definitely see her being best friends with everyone, I see her as a middle game victim, maybe chapter 3? I think her optimism will eventually lead to her death.
I'm gonna be honest, I don't like Yumeo. I thought I would, but I like cold characters, not rude ones. The way he treated Tomoya was terrible. I may eventually come to like him after development but so far, nope.
Chou is the last one I think, and I love her too! I think her nad temper will definitely lead to her being an early culprit. I think she's super interesting!
Hi Justine thank you for your answers to my previous questions as always and your great content.
Today I have this question, I was reading your blog Nd found some word that didint knew or remember the meaning, searching for them
I found this beautiful photo
I found it very interesting because the maiko on it looks very legit
So I would like to know if she is and if you know who she is and can tell us a little bit more about it
As well I saw that is the front of a photobook about nihongami, quite interesting,have you ever read it? What is your opinion
I found amazing that they use a real Karyukai member as the image since they are the ones that keep them alive today.
Thank you in advance Dear Justine :)
Best regards
Yes, she's a real maiko! She's former maiko Fukuno (ふく乃) of Kawayoshi (河よ志) in Miyagawa Cho. I haven't read that book yet, but it's on my list of books to acquire ^^