15/16th of June in the Year of the Rabbit 2011

I woke up to go to the school, and put a red kimono with a gold obi on. I broke apart the shamisen and put it in a cloth bag. I stuck my fan in my obi, before putting on geta and leaving the okiya.

Okaasan said that if I did extremely well at the school, I may be allowed to become a maiko early (I'm only 9). I hurried for I did not want to be late, for any class. I removed my geta to put on slippers once I came in through the door.

My first class is dance. I'm very pleased when I signed up for it. I review the dance steps with Kimiko, Yuri, or Tamari-san when they have free time. Okaasan may be free to help me, but I still have Obasan to help me practice.

My sensei is very strict about learning the steps. She calls on every girl to perform for her and critics them harshly. Her name is Kiko. Today, I performed for her first. I felt very heavy as I performed. Having read Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden, I use the same technique that Chiyo-san had used.

I expected to be criticed ny Kiko-sensei, but she applauded. She told me that I must be a natural and needed to sign up for plays to be in. She then told the class that they needed to be like me. I believe that I made a few rivals.

Yuki-sensei is my shamisen teacher. She may be strict but kind. She likes her students to have the right pitch when they play, but she dosen't help you much. She tells you what to do to improve, then you go and practice.

We didn't perform in front of teh class, because Yuki-sensei has a very good ear. After class dismisses, she is free to tutor any girl to help. I have been with her for 2 weeks.

My sensei that helps me with singing is Ichigo. Ichigo-sensei is very hard and does not allow anyone who cannot sing in her class. She is not available for tutoring anyway. I am allowed in her class, because I can sing. Our class is very small, because of her expectations.

Tea ceremony is taught by Yukiyo-sensei. She makes sure we pour correctly and make it correctly. She tries all our teas and tells us whose good and whose bad. She says I have promise. I give all my credit to Okassan, because she taught me.

When I returned to the okiya from school, Obasan put me to work. There is a rumor that another geisha and another girl will be coming. I couldn't get any more clues ot info about it and I didn't dare ask Okaasan, because she wouldn't tell me.

Yuri-san woke up and asked the cook to make her some tea. I was told to deliver her tea. I knocked on her screen door and she opened it. I handed the her the tea and she beckoned me in. I walked in and she closed the screen, but not before Obaasan walks in. She held a kimono in her hands again. I knew what it means. I'm going out to experience the Floating World. Yuri-san explained that I will be greeting the geisha when she comes in a month. The maid would be there before her. I nodded.

For now, my assumptions are correct. I changed into the kimono and went with her to a shrine to perform a tea ceremony. I am not allowed to participate in making the tea, but am allowed to drink it.

I sat along the back wall. I am to be invisible. I watched Komaki-san make small talk with a customer. I heard stories about a geisha called Natsune-san is very famous, but she is also going to live in an okiya, because she lost her danna. Another geisha, Ichimitsu, might be coming to an okiya in Gion, although she may live in Tokyo.

After we left the shrine, she took me to the Shriae Teahouse to enterain a small party. I sat along the back wall again, while she talked. She poured sake for the men and listened to their stories. We stayed for 2 hours there and then decided to head back to the okiya. As we walked, my stomach emptied and I stopped near a shrub to let the vomit go.

Komaki-san rubbed my back until I felt better. She realized I needed sustenance, so she took me to a club where men serve women. She ordered food for me and water for herself. I ate fast, but Komaki-san made me eat slow.

When we returned to the okiya, Okaasan waited for us. Komaki-san odered me to change, while she talked to Okaasan. I worked on some of my chores until Obasan told me to practice my shamisen. I did for an hour, instead of 2, before I went to sleep.