May 2nd, 2024: 'Tis the season for celebrations, and what could be bigger than an erikae? Two erikae! Kotsuru (小つる) of Shigemori (しげ森) in Miyagawa Cho and Ichikoto (市琴) of Katsumi (勝見) in Pontocho are currently wearing the sakkō hairstyle ahead of their May erikae! Both women are wearing the traditional outfits of their districts for their sakkō periods: Kotsuru is wearing a kuromontsuki, a black crested formal kimono, while Ichikoto is wearing an iromontsuki, a colored crested formal kimono. Kotsuru's erikae will be taking place on May 9th while Ichikoto's will be taking place on May 27th ^^ Images are courtesy of My Kyoto Photo and Geiko Ayano.

January 22nd, 2020: The first maiko to debut in the new decade has finally appeared! Ichikoto (市琴) of Katsumi (勝見) in Pontocho is the second imōto for geiko Ichiraku (市楽), who is also the onesan to other Katsumi maiko Ichiyū. Her wonderful kanzashi features three cranes on golden pine, which is an auspicious start for the young maiko! A week from now we’ll see another debut in Pontocho so keep your eyes peeled for that ^^ おめでとうさんどす市琴ちゃん ^o^! Images are courtesy of the Pontocho Kabukai and Chari_Chariiii.

November 28th, 2019: The photo shoot for the 2020 Kamogawa Odori poster has taken place, and some new faces are among the maiko! Current minarai Hideyoshi and about-to-be minarai Hidewaka can be seen at the back, but there’s also the addition of a new girl! According to the post her geimei is Ichikoto (市琴), but at this time what okiya she belongs to is unknown. She will likely debut within the next month or so ^^ Participants are: First row: Momika (もみ香), Ichiyū (市結), and Mitsuhana (光はな) Second Row: Hidefumi (秀芙美), Hidemai (秀眞衣), Hidechiyo (秀千代), and Hidekano (秀華乃) Third Row: Ichikoto (市琴), Hidewaka (秀若), and Hideyoshi (秀好) Image is courtesy of the Pontocho Kabukai.

The Karyukai Summary of 2020

On The Seventh Day of Fun I present... the yearly tally of what went on within Kyoto’s gokagai! Normally I do a half year summary in the summer time, but I didn’t this year as it was a bit hard to tell when the half way point really was and if there would be any continued activity for the rest of the year at all. So, here’s what we got to see in 2020! Misedashi Ichikoto (市琴) of Katsumi (勝見) in Pontocho - January 22nd Hidewaka (秀若) of Masamiya (雅美家) in Pontocho - January 29th Yoriko (依子) of Nishimura (西村) in Gion Kobu - February 27th Fukuyū (ふく侑) of Shigemori (しげ森) in Miyagawa Cho - February 27th Katsuume (佳つ梅) of Odamoto (小田本) in Gion Kobu - March 2nd Haruchizu (櫻千鶴) of Tama (多麻) in Gion Kobu - March 4th Katsukoma (佳つ駒) of Odamoto (小田本) in Gion Kobu - March 10th Yuzuha (柚子葉) of Tama (多麻) in Gion Kobu - March 10th Fukuharu (ふく晴) of Kikumasa (貴久政) in Miyagawa Cho - March 10th Maya (真矢) of Minoyae (美の八重) in Gion Kobu - March 16th Sayumi (紗友美) of Tsurui (つる居) in Gion Kobu - March 26th Fukumomo (ふく百) of Shigemori (しげ森) in Miyagawa Cho - April 7th Fukunagi (ふく凪) of Shigemori (しげ森) in Miyagawa Cho - April 7th Mameyae (豆八重) of Dai Ichi (大市) in Pontocho - July 9th Toshiryō (とし涼) of Komaya (駒屋) in Miyagawa Cho - October 8th Kanahina (叶雛) of Kawahisa (川久) in Miyagawa Cho - October 8th Kimisuzu (君鈴) of Honjo (本城) in Miyagawa Cho - October 29th Fukushino (ふく凌) of Horiyae (堀八重) in Miyagawa Cho - November 9th Masune (ます音) of Nakagishi (中支志) in Gion Kobu - November 16th Kikusora (菊そら) of Minatoya (湊家) in Miyagawa Cho - November 16th Masateru (満彩光) of Man (まん) in Gion Higashi - November 19th Emika (恵美華) of Minoyae (美の八重) in Gion Kobu - November 25th Tomieri (富瑛梨) of Tomikiku (富菊) in Gion Higashi - December 2nd Toshimasa (とし真紗) of Komaya (駒屋) in Miyagawa Cho - December 8th Fumitsuru (富美鶴) of Toshikimi (利きみ) in Miyagawa Cho - December 8th 2020 Total: 25 2019 Total: 25 Change: 0 Erikae Koeri (小衿) of Hiroshimaya (廣島屋) in Gion Kobu - February 27th Umehina (梅ひな) of Umeno (梅乃) in Kamishichiken - April 7th Ichiyū (市結) of Katsumi (勝見) in Pontocho - October 19th Mitsuki (美月) of Tsurui (つる居) in Gion Kobu - October 19th Mamekinu (まめ衣) of Tama (多麻) in Gion Kobu - October 21st   Kohana (小花) of Masuume (桝梅) in Gion Kobu - October 31st Fukutama (ふく珠) of Shigemori (しげ森) in Miyagawa Cho - November 19th Fukuna (ふく那) of Kawayoshi (河よ志) in Miyagawa Cho - November 26th Chikaharu (千賀遥) of Komaya (駒屋) in Miyagawa Cho - December 8th 2020 Total: 9 2019 Total: 9 Change: 0 Leavings Naomai (尚舞) of Nakasato (中里) in Kamishichiken - January Kosumi (小純) of Hiroshimaya (廣島屋) in Gion Kobu - February Takeha (竹葉) of Fujimoto (��本) in Gion Kobu - February Momika (もみ香) of Yamaguchi (やまぐち) in Pontocho - March Kimimoe (君萌) of Toshikimi (利きみ) in Miyagawa Cho - March Hidekano (秀華乃) of Masamiya (雅美家) in Pontocho - May Mameharu (まめ春) of Tama (多麻) in Gion Kobu - May Konami (小なみ) of Nakagishi (中支志) in Gion Kobu - May Mameryō (豆涼) of Ninben (亻) in Gion Kobu - July Hidewaka (秀若) of Masamiya (雅美家) in Pontocho - July　 Ichiume (市梅) of Ichi (市) in Kamishichiken - July Ichigiku (市ぎく) of Ichi (市) in Kamishichiken - July Kikutsuru (菊つる) of Hanafusa (花ふさ) in Miyagawa Cho - August Kanohiro (叶紘) of Kanoya (叶家) in Gion Higashi - August Koen (小えん) of Shigemori (しげ森) in Miyagawa Cho - August Tomihoshi (富豊志) of Tomikiku (富菊) in Gion Higashi - September Fukukana (ふく香奈) of Kawayoshi (河よ志) in Miyagawa Cho - September Fukumomo (ふく百) of Shigemori (しげ森) in Miyagawa Cho - October Tomichie (富千英) of Tomikiku (富菊) in Gion Higashi - November Fukune (ふく音) of Kawayoshi (河よ志) in Miyagawa Cho - December 2020 Total: 20 2019 Total: 15 Change: +5 So, what do the numbers tell us this year? 2020 was a bit slower than 2019 with 5 more leavings, but overall was a successful year with a whopping 25 misedashi! Gion Kobu did well overall in numbers with 9 misedashi and 4 erikae, but they had 5 leavings, 2 of which were natori geiko. Overall, their score is still an excellent +4! Miyagawa Cho was the other big winner with a whopping 11 misedashi and 3 erikae. With only 5 leavings, one of which was a maiko who debuted this year, Miyagawa Cho wins with an overall score of +6! Pontocho once again does well by the numbers with 3 misedashi and 1 erikae, but with 3 retirements, 1 being a maiko who debuted this year, their overall score stays at an even 0.  Gion Higashi managed 2 new debuts but no erikae this year, which is still great for such a small district. They also had one maiko come back too (Kanotomo, who is not listed). However, with 3 maiko leaving their score ends up being 0 for the year. Kamishichiken once again wins the award for worst showing. With no misedashi, one erikae, and three retirements their score is -3. It’s odd to see such a district have no new debuts for an entire year, but there must have been some important reason as to why no maiko were allowed to debut in 2020. Hopefully this will change in 2021 and Kamishichiken can once again flourish. 

Are there any photos of Pontocho maiko Ichikoto as a minarai and/or shikomi? I haven't seen any :(

I haven’t seen any either ^^;