JAPAN | Saturday, 12 January 2013 | Views [921] | View Larger Image
Geiko and maiko stand at the crossroads between past and present. Given the rigors of the profession and its adherence to customs that become increasingly outdated with each generation, the modern-day geisha is fast approaching extinction: at its peak, the sisterhood was 80,000 members strong; today in Kyoto, there are fewer than 300 working geisha, half of whom are located in Gion. It is unclear what the future may hold, but these geisha, already standing on the lip of time, may all too soon join the ranks of those no longer of this world and spoken of only as myth.
