Hi! I’ve got quite an interesting question that I’m not sure if can be answered.

Do you know if the Fukushima Okiya has links with the Taira Clan? I believe the kamon comes from the clan but I’d like to know for sure. If not do you know where it originated from?

My guess was if not that it would come from Minoyae but I’m not overly sure. Thanks! ^^

As far as I know they do not. The standard butterfly is a pretty common kamon in Japan ^^

July 2018: Geiko Mameroku (Arai Okiya) and Geiko Masaki (Minoyae Okiya) of Gion Kobu at the Yasaka Shrine during Miyabi-Kai.

Source: K.W.C. Photo - Blog

มีนาคม 2556: ไมโกะ Masaki (โอกิยะ Minoyae), และไมโกะ Satsuki (โอกิยะ Tsurui) จากเขต Gion Kobu กำลังร่ายรำเพลง Gion Kouta ในงาน Higashiyama Hanatouro

Gion Kouta (祇園小唄) เป็นเพลงพื้นฐานที่สุดที่ไมโกะจะฝึกร่ายรำเป็นเพลงแรก เนื้อเพลงแบ่งออกเป็น 4 กลุ่มหลักๆ กล่าวถึงฤดูกาลทั้งสี่ในเกียวโต

Source: otsuka1946 on Yahoo blog

Review: The Makanai: Cooking For The Maiko House - Episode 1

I’ve been getting a TON of asks for me to review Maiko San Chi No Makanai San’s new live action adaptation, so now that I’ve had some time to finally sit down and watch it I can do just that! Episode 1: Change The show starts out in Aomori where Kiyo and Sumire are departing for Kyoto and are seen off by Kiyo’s grandmother and Kenta, their friend from school. This happens in the manga and the anime as well, but the show adds a line about Sumire’s parents not showing up because her father didn’t approve of her becoming a maiko. I honestly never questioned why Sumire’s parents were never at the station before, but that line actually makes the whole thing make sense now! Next we’re whisked off to Kyoto where, upon arriving in Gion Kobu, Kiyo and Sumire almost immediately run into maiko, who are played by none other than Mameaya of Ninben and Mami of Minoyae! On their way to their destination they spot even more maiko, who are Nanoha, Mameju, and Yuzuha of Tama! I really enjoyed the cameos and I bet the real maiko enjoyed playing themselves too. From there they meet the two okasan of the Saku yakata (the show uses the term yakata instead of okiya, so I’m also going to use the term yakata from now on), Azusa and Chiyo. This is a slight deviation from the manga and anime where there was only one okasan and they all just called her “okasan” instead of giving her an actual name. The girls then go to settle into their new digs when they’re confronted by one of the other girls who lives there, Ryoko, who quite rudely tells them that they’re not cut out for this and that they’ll quit soon enough (what a bitch :O!). It then skips ahead three months to the day where the yakata is changing out the sliding doors for summer, and the local otokoshi have come to help out. It’s here that we first get to meet the makanai of the Saku yakata, Sachiko. She’s a middle aged woman who’s brought ingredients to make everyone in the house some fresh somen noodles to cool everyone off on a hot day. It’s here that we’re first introduced to what a makanai is and Sachiko’s physical problems that ail her. After the lunch is over Kiyo tries to help massage Sachiko’s back, but things go awry when Sachiko ends up putting her back out when she tries to get up off the floor of the yakata. This spells the end of Sachiko’s time as the makanai for the Saku yakata. We then cut to lessons at the Nyokoba, where Kiyo isn’t exactly a master of flower arranging (her arrangement seems to just flop over), then to drum lessons where Kiyo can’t hold a beat to save her life, and then onto dance lessons where Kiyo just can’t keep up, to the point where she’s told to go sit off to the side by the dance teacher as she’s interrupting the lesson. Poor Kiyo is even reprimanded after the lesson and is made to question whether she should keep pursuing the career of a maiko or not. However, all Kiyo can think about during the exchange with the dance teacher is the teacher’s udon noodles (I’m guessing that they did this to show a pattern between Kiyo and food, but it did feel slightly odd). Sumire and Kiyo then walk home together and Sumire is clearly worried for her friend, but Kiyo just shrugs it off like the meeting with the dance teacher meant nothing at all.  Back at the yakata the maiko of the house are getting dressed and some explanation is given as to what they wear for certain months of the year. Kiyo’s clumsiness leads to Sumire taking over to help the otokoshi get the maiko dressed and following after the otokoshi to go help them dress a geiko called Momoko. In the manga and the anime Momoko is (spoiler) the onesan of Sumire once she debuts as a maiko, but we never actually meet her. Here she shows up in episode one, so we know that she’s meant to play an integral part in the show somehow going forward. Sumire follows Momoko around for the night like shikomi often do and is at one point rewarded by asking if she’d like to watch an ozashiki that Momoko will be performing at. It’s here that we can see Sumire’s passion for the profession as she watches Momoko dance and you just know that Sumire wants to dance like Momoko someday.    The next day, Kiyo goes to visit Sachiko in her apartment and cooks tomato curry for her, while Sachiko explains the secret to being a makanai: that you have to be able to cook something that will satisfy everyone’s taste buds since the residents of the yakata come from all over Japan and have grown up with different seasonings. Kiyo takes this to heart and returns to the yakata, where at night a mysterious phone call is answered by Chiyo and the episode ends.   So far I’ve really liked the show and while it’s taken some deviations from the manga and anime, it’s likely to explain them in the future, so I look forward to checking out the rest of the series ^^!    

How was Mao able to change her okiya, from Minoyae to Okaai, and why did she do it?

Jimae geiko in Gion Kobu can change their affiliation to any ochaya of their choosing and don't have to be tied down to their debut okiya for their entire career. As to why she changed to Okaai, I have no idea ^^;

Hello! Do you also have any sources to look into what Makoto of Minoyae okiya has done, or is doing right now? I want to keep up with the news about her :)

Makoto is currently a jazz singer! You can follow along on her Facebook page here ^^

Hi! How common is it that geiko or maiko become older sisters to younger maiko outside of their okiya? For example Mao and her imouto Maya. Was this maybe just a special case?

Mao was originally from Minoyae, so she's still considered part of that family even though she's chosen to move her registration elsewhere as a jimae geiko ^^

So Mayuko is still active as okaasan? For what okiya? And where she's originally from?

Mayuko is the current okasan of the Minoyae okiya. She also debuted from there many years ago ^^

November 2017: Geiko Masaki (Minoyae Okiya) of Gion Kobu on her way to an engagement.

Source: fu_manchu on Instagram

January 2019: Jikata Geiko Fukunami (Minoya Okiya) of Gion Kobu on her way to an engagement.

Other than most Jikata Geiko in Gion Kobu, Fukunami debuted as a Maiko in 1990 and switched to being a Jikata shortly after becoming a Geiko in 1995. She has been active for a total of 29 years, is around 44 years old right now and became a natori Geiko years ago.

Source: luciagq on Instagram

Dear Justine, I hope you are well and healthy

I just went through your page for the first time in a while and saw that the Nakagishi okiya has closed?! When did that happen? I was so sad to find out because maiko Ichiwaka was one of my favourites back in the days.

Also, I thought Mao, Masaki and Makino were all from Minoyae? But it’s only Masaki? Is there an “overlap” of names or special connection between these two okiya?

Thank you!

Nakagishi closed last year and all active geimaiko moved to Hiroshimaya. Mao, Masaki, and Makino all debuted from Minoyae, but Mao moved her registration to Okaai and Makino has been retired for a few years now ^^

March 16th, 2020: Congratulations to Kyoto’s newest maiko Maya (真矢) of Minoyae (美の八重) in Gion Kobu on the occasion of her misedashi! She is the first imōto of natori geiko Mao (真生) and the first debut from her okiya in 9 years! I feel as though Mao and Maya could pass for real sisters as their resemblance is uncanny ^^ おめでとうさんどす真矢ちゃん ^o^! Image is courtesy of Ginza Shintaro. 

As of right now March 2020, Which Okiya has the largest amount of Geiko, Maiko, Minarai, and Shikomi? And who has the least?

I think you had a bit of a typo as it’s now May and not March ^^; The okiya with the most maiko right now is Shigemori with 9 and the least is Minoyae with 1. Geiko goes to Tama with 10 and there’s a multitude of okiya that only have 1 geiko registered. There’s currently no minarai as the kagai are closed, and it’s unknown as to how many shikomi are at each okiya as they’ve all been sent home to their families in the meantime ^^

(2) speaking about Manoka and ochaya... do you know when Minoya stopped being an okiya and when Minoyae appeared? Thanks as always!

Minoya and Minoyae have both been open as ochaya for a very long time, but Minoya stopped acting as an okiya in the 1990s. It’s around that same time that Minoyae started functioning as an okiya. I’m not too sure why this change happened though ^^;

Kato and Minoyae are the same okiya? I have nor a single idea where Minoyae is located and I'm also curious to know, if it's not the same venue as Kato.

No, Katou and Minoyae are not in the same building or venue. They’re situated about 2 blocks away from each other. Katou is only an ochaya while Minoyae is both an ochaya and an okiya ^^

To continue on the topic of Mameroku moving her nameplate elsewhere, how would one go about that? Would they just discuss with the okaasan saying ''i want to register elsewhere'' (provided their contract time is fullfilled) and would that result in some bad blood from the okaasan? I remember a lot of Minoyae girls later moved their nameplate elsewhere as soon as they became jimae.

Usually they move because they have a good relationship with the okasan of another ochaya, but I suppose it could also be because they don’t get along with the okasan of the place that they’re currently affiliated with. This is fairly common for older jimae geiko as their starter okiya often don’t exist anymore or they just want one of their friends to look after their finances. Both Mao and Makino of Minoyae moved their plates to Okaai, and Mao is still affiliated with them ^^