December Kanzashi. 1 - Aizuwakamatsu: Mochibana (餅花 - new year decoration), hamaya (破魔矢 - arrow to dispell demons), osuushi no me (雄牛の目 - Bull's eye), maneki (招き - Kabuki name boards), koban (小判 - gold coin), saikoro (骰子 - dice), tanzaku (短冊 - strips of paper with wishes written on them) 2 - Gifu: Mochibana, hamaya, osuushi no me, tanzaku 3+4 - Akita: Tsubaki (椿 - camellia) red and white 5 - Nara: Mochibana, hagoita (羽子板 - decorative battledores), arrow+bull's eye, gold coin, dice, tanzaku 6 - Nagoya: Mochibana, hamaya, osuushi no me, koban, saikoro, hagoita 7 - Yuzawa: Matsu (松 - pine), maneki 8 - Tokyo-Asakusa: Mochibana, hamaya, osuushi no me, koban, hagoita 9 - Tokyo-Kagurazaka: Zuru (crane), hagoita 10 - Tokyo-Kagurazaka: Mochibana, maneki, koban, hamaya, osuushi no me, saikoro 11 - Tokyo-Mukojima: Mochibana, maneki, yukiwa (雪輪 - snowflakes), maneki neko (招き猫 - lucky cat), matsu, saikoro 12 - Tokyo-Mukojima: Mochibana, hagoita, koban, saikoro, tai (鯛 - sea bream), tanzaku Picture sources: 1 (instagram story, no longer available) - 2 - 3+4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10 - 11 (?) - 12

Maiko Kikutomi of Gifu city by @moekokome on Instagram

Inspired by Myloko’s recent Kanzashi spotlight - did you ever wonder what Kanzashi Maiko/Hangyoku (other than in Kyoto) wear in January?  1 - Kagurazaka: Pine (松), pine needles (松葉), plum blossoms (梅), cranes (鶴) 2 - Kagurazaka: Plum blossoms, pine needles, hagoita (羽子板, decorative battledores) 3 - Nara: Silk bobbins (糸巻), pine, plum blossoms 4 - Mukojima: Pine, pine cones (松毬), pine needles 5 - Akita: Pine needles, pine cones, crane 6 - Hachioji: Crane, pine, plum blossoms 7 - Gifu: Bamboo leaves, plum blossoms 8 - Nara: Chrysanthemum blossoms (菊) 9 - Shinbashi: Hagoita, chrysanthemum blossoms

Picture sources 1 - 2 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 9  [3, 8 are from an Insta account which no longer exists. 4 is from Futaba facebook, the exact picture seems to have been deleted]

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) 

December 2014: maiko Kikutomi from Gifu city with December kanzashi (SOURCE)

Compare it with Kyoto kanzashi - Gifu’s has no maneki tags on it because Kikutomi didn’t participate in the kabuki festival at the beginning of December

April 2015: maiko Kikutomi of Gifu city by @kifumipuriko on Instagram

There’s a new maiko san in Gifu! Her name is Kikutomi and she debuted on 21st May 2014. Congratulations! (SOURCE)