My Fair Geisha
By: sakuraflowergal
Chapter 1: The Bet
"Please, let me work here. I do anything; clean, wash, cook, anything!"
"The owner of the house is not home. Just go away, find work somewhere else." A beautiful lady with ruby red eyes and magnificent black hair chased the poor girl away.
19-year-old Sakura reluctantly walked away from the house to visit the next. She had left home to find work in the capital city of Kyoto, yet, after a week of looking and begging, work was always out of reach.
Still hopeful, the hungry girl approached the next wooden house to ask for work. Sakura slide open the paper door and poked her head into the house and saw many pairs of slippers all lined up neatly in the shoe rack. Many female voices could be heard from deep inside the house, some sounded angry, as if they were having an argument.
"Excuse me, I'm Kinomoto Sakura." Sakura called out.
A paper door of one of the rooms opened and a brown haired man appeared. "What do you want?" He asked in a harsh tone.
"I wish to work here. I'll do anything you want me to."
"There is no work for you here, go elsewhere." The man barked and turned to re-enter the room.
"Please…" Sakura pleaded. If she doesn't find a job soon, she may starve to death!
"No, now go away!" he shouted.
The paper door slide open again, this time, a young lady of her age stepped out. She may not be very pretty but her kimono was stunning. Sakura couldn't keep her eyes of the lovely garment!
"Now, that's not the way to speak to a lady." She spoke while 'gliding' to Sakura. Her beautiful kimono was not worn in a cylindrical shape like other girls. Instead, she allowed the hem to trail behind her as she moved around, making it looked like she glide, and not walk.
"I heard you wish to work. What can you do?" the lady spoke kindly.
For the first time, Sakura examined the lady's facial features and found a pair of unusual, yet enchanting violet eyes. Sakura became slightly lost in the two gems until the man coughed, which dragged her back to reality.
Sakura recollected herself and replied, "I do anything I am given to do, as long as I get some money to send home. I can be a maid, a cook, a…"
"How about geisha?"
"Huh?" Both the man and Sakura looked surprise. The paper door slide open again to reveal a row of middle-aged ladies sitting in the room.
"I have an idea." The lady turned to the man. "Why don't you train her to become a star geisha and present her to the Emperor on his birthday celebrations? That way, she will be able to earn an income for herself."
The man grunted, "What do I get for training this thing?"
"You will be officially accepted into the geisha community." The lady looked at the other ladies and received approval. "Isn't that what you want and what you need?"
He thought for a while and replied, "Deal!"
The ladies smiled and stood up to leave. As they pass by Sakura, they whispered words of luck to her. Now, only the man, the violet-eyed lady and Sakura remained in the house.
"I'll provide the things you may need: kimonos, makeup, shamisan, etc. Everything else is up to you." The lady told the man.
Turning to Sakura, "My name is Daidouji Tomoyo, a kimono maker." Tomoyo then pointed to the man. "This is Li Syaoran, a geisha trainer. Work hard, Sakura-san, and you will become a great geisha!" She then handed an envelop to Sakura. "Before you start working, you will need this. Send it home to your family."
Tomoyo then left the two strangers alone in the house.
Given the peace and quiet, Syaoran eyed the dirty girl thoroughly, examining every inch of skin. 'She needs a bath badly.' He thought. Then, her emeralds caught his eye. 'Green eyes… not bad, she just needs to learn how to use them.' Syaoran then noticed the short honey-brown hair.
"Naoko!" Syaoran called out. A maid soon appeared in front of them. "Wash her and dress her in a lady's kimono. Throw those rags away; a geisha should never be caught dead in those things!"
"Can I be given something to eat? I haven't eaten for days." Sakura asked.
"You heard her, get Rika to cook something simple. I need to bring her to the wig maker before the sun sets." Syaoran ordered.
"Hai!" Naoko chirped and brought Sakura away.
After one hour, Sakura was all clean from the refreshing bath and was satisfied by the delicious rice balls. She was dressed in a fine silk kimono that was only worn by the nobles. Just as how Tomoyo had worn her kimono, the hem of the kimono trails behind Sakura as she shuffles from room to room. Naoko had presented her with a pair of zori (slippers) to go with the kimono and taught her how to lift the skirt off the ground when she goes to the streets. As Syaoran and Sakura walk on the streets, many people stared at Sakura as she walks in an awkward manner.
"Will you walk faster? And look at the way you are walking, it's horrible!" Syaoran complained.
"Gomen nasai!" Sakura apologized and lost her concentration. A slipper fell out and she had to hop a step backwards to retrive it.
Syaoran shock his head and gave a big sigh. "I'll teach you how to walk later. Just move faster."
Sakura nodded and concentrated on the walking.
Somehow, they managed to get to the wig maker before the sun sets. When the couple entered the small wooden house, a strong smell of wax floated out. Syaoran, who was used to the smell, was unaffected. But Sakura couldn't stand the smell and had to fight the urge to hold her nose in the house.
"Yamazaki! How have you been? Where's your buddy?" Syaoran greeted a man who was busy with a wig.
"The usual. He's out sending a new wig to the almighty Meiling-san." Yamazaki replied without looking up.
"What a brat. She should know that geishas bring the wigs to the maker, not the other way round!" Syaoran commented with distaste.
"What can we do? She is the top geisha now. We just have to wait until she loses the limelight before we torture her." The busy man said, still not looking up.
"I need your help. You have to make her 3 wigs within 2 weeks."
Yamazaki heard the request and finally look up from his work. He saw Sakura and her short, brown hair and immediately understood why she needed wigs badly.
"Hey, I may be talented, but I am not god. 3 wigs in 2 weeks? I can hardly finish 1 in the same amount of time!"
"You have to do it! We don't have much time before the royal party." Syaoran said.
"Wait. She's performing in the royal party? I don't remember seeing her before. Did she come from another hanamachi (geisha community)?" Yamazaki asked as he glanced at Sakura.
"It's a long story. We'll talk some other time. Just tell me that you can make her 3 wigs in 2 weeks." Syaoran sighed.
"It's impossible to make 3 wigs from scratch in such a short time. But if you don't mind, I can reset a few old wigs to suit her."
"I'll just have to make do with it for now. But make a brand new one for the royal party. You will have about 2 months for that, okay?"
"Deal" Yamazaki said and immediately pulled Sakura away to measure her head and face. A good wig could make a round face sharp and a thin face rounder. To do so, the maker had to have the measurements of the wearer and make a mannequin which he would use as a model for the wigs.
Within minutes, Yamazaki was done with the measuring and sent the couple back on the streets.
"Who was he?" Sakura asked while she continued struggling with the zori.
"Yamazaki Takashi, one of the best wig makers around. He was born to a geisha mother but it is forbidden for males to become geisha or geisha trainers, so he studied wig making and now, he is so good, everyone in the hanamachi goes to him for wigs." Syaoran explained.
"If it is forbidden for males to become geisha trainers, why are you one?"
Syaoran paused in his steps and gave another big sigh. "I'll explain everything over dinner."
Sakura was confused by Syaoran's contradiction but said nothing and just followed him home.
"Welcome home, Otou-san." Naoko greeted by the door.
When Sakura heard 'Otou-san', she gave Syaoran a weird look while Syaoran sighed in return. (Syaoran sighs a lot!)
"Bring our dinner into my room." He ordered.
"Hai."
Naoko and Rika sent the food up to Syaoran's room, which is the biggest room of the house aside from the living room downstairs. Syaoran and Sakura settled themselves down and started eating.
"Like Yamazaki," Syaoran started, "I was born to a geisha mother. In the geisha world, which we call the Karyukai or the flower and willow world, girls are more of a treasure than boys as they can grow up to become a geisha. Boys are given a different route. Most of them become wig makers like Yamazaki, kimono makers, or dressers, who help dress the geishas up in the evening."
Syaoran paused here and drowned a cup of tea. "I had grown up by my mother's side and she was one of the most famous geisha trainers, or what we call, 'Oka-san'. Don't be confused. The geisha world is filled with sister-mother relations, this is how it is. The Oka-sans own their own okiyas (geisha houses) and all the geishas are affiliated to these okiyas."
Sakura now understood why Naoko called Syaoran 'Otou-san' although he was too young to be her father. Syaoran was a geisha trainer and owned his own okiya, but the maid clearly could not call him 'mother' and thus the change in names.
"When my mother died without a successor, I decide to quit my job as a shamisen (three-string musical instrument) teacher and take over the okiya as a geisha trainer. But as I mentioned before, males are forbidden by traditions to become geisha trainers. All the other Oka-sans, whom you have just met today, are against it. They gather here today to try and get me out of the profession. Your appearance merely gave them an opportunity to come up with an impossible challenge to force me out of the hanamachi."
Sakura nodded, finally understanding the entire situation. She also realized the difficulty of the bet if Syaoran said it was mission impossible.
There was a long silence as the two of them continued their dinner. It was only until Syaoran finished his food when he finally broke the silence.
"The training starts tomorrow. I'll prove to them that I can do something they think is impossible for me. I won't abandon the okiya without a fight!"
Sakura gave a sweet smile, "Hai!"
She stood up to leave the room for her own which Naoko had prepared. Before she close the paper door behind her, "Sleep tight, Kinomoto-san, this may be the only time you are able to sleep well in this 2 months."
When Sakura entered her new bedroom, she found that the bedding was already rolled out on the floor ready for use. A large mirror stood by the wall while small bottles of makeup sat on the small table beside it.
Naoko entered the room to help Sakura change out of her silk kimono and into a more comfortable cotton kimono. She also helped Sakura comb her hair before leaving the room for the night.
With the peace and quiet in the room, Sakura started to feel that everything was a dream. She looked at her reflection in the mirror and raised her hand to touch it. Everything was so surreal. Hours ago, she was wearing rags and starving. Now, she has a wardrobe of silk kimonos with a future as a geisha. This made her remember the envelop Tomoyo gave her in the day. She decided that she will ask Naoko to deliver it home for her tomorrow morning.
Sakura sighed and kept the envelop under her pillow. 'How are you now? Oni-chan.'
Somehow, Sakura managed to fall asleep in the unfamiliar surroundings and had a dreamless sleep. If Naoko hadn't woken her up for the morning prayers, Sakura may have slept until noon.
"From tomorrow onwards," Syaoran spoke after the prayers end, "You will wake up at 6 in the morning for the morning prayers. Breakfast will be served at 7 after you have cleaned up and dressed in your training kimono. The lessons will start at 8 or after breakfast, whichever comes first. In the evening, I will bring you to the banquets where you will sit in a corner in full costume and learn by observing. By the time we get home, it would just after midnight. You will then be settled for the night."
Sakura's eyes widened at the full schedule she would have to follow for the next 2 months.
Syaoran then continued with his words. "This will be the basic schedule for now. If you learn fast, you will have more time to yourself. If you don't, then you will continue practicing after you get home from the banquets."
Sakura nodded in understanding.
"During lessons, you will learn to sing koutas (short lyrical songs accompanied by shamisen), the dances you will perform with the other geishas that day, talk and flirt in the party, drink and play the drinking games, speak some Kyoto geisha dialect and, after seeing your walking, get comfortable in your costume."
This time, Sakura could not help but protest. "I can't do this! It's too many things to do in 2 months!"
"You're lucky I didn't include shamisen lessons! Most people master these skills only after 10 years of training. You only have 2 months. This is why I say it is an impossible challenge!"
"Fine! But I won't drink! No way are you going to force me to poison myself!"
"Nonsense! Have you ever heard a geisha who don't drink?" Syaoran shot back.
Sakura quiet down and just sighed softly. Syaoran took it as a sign of acceptance.
"Well, today will be easy. No dancing or singing. Just a day for you to get used to geisha's kimono and learn how to work in them."
After breakfast, Naoko helped Sakura change into an underkimono. Syaoran then entered the room to dress her in a geisha kimono.
"In Kyoto, there are 3 stages to a geisha. First stage is the minarai: the girl will sit in a banquet for 2 months to observe how the other geisha works. You will only have 1 week to do so. Second stage is the maiko: the girl participates in the banquet by pouring sake (Japanese rice wine) and by dancing for in the party. The word maiko means dancing girl. Most girls spend 3 to 5 years in this stage before they move on. You will get 3 weeks. The last stage is the geiko: Geiko means arts woman. To get to this stage, she must have mastered at least one of the gei (arts). Most girls choose dancing or shamisen but some may choose others like koto (thirteen-string retangular harp). Yours will be the dance. Since you will be dancing in the royal party, there is no time to nurture you for the other arts."
Sakura listened to Syaoran as she felt the silk wrapped around her and the belt tied at the chest level.
As soon as Syaoran stopped talking, Sakura realized that dressing was done. Syaoran stood aside to admire his handiwork.
"You are dressed in a hikizuri (kimono with a padded hem). Geishas wear this type of kimono to banquets." Syaoran explained as he took a pair of clogs from Naoko.
"This is okobo (4-inched high wooden clogs). Because some minarai and maiko may be as young as 10, the height of the okobo can help to boost their real height. It also serves to counter balance a maiko's ankle-length obi (belt)."
Syaoran made Sakura wear the clogs and try to walk in them. This only made Sakura fall the moment she took a step.
'Ow…how can I ever get comfortable in these?' Sakura thought as Syaoran motioned her to get up and try again.
To be continued
AN: Did you like it? It's my first attempt to create a 'historical fiction' and it's not really good. Some practices or customs of geishas may be changed to accomodate to my story, so pleasedon't quote any part of this story as the truth to the geisha world. If you need help understanding, is an excellent source of infomation. By the way, reviews are very important to an author. (hint: hit the 'submit review' button!)