My Fair Geisha
By: sakuraflowergal
Chapter 4: Mizuage?
"How old are you, Kohoshi-chan?"
Meiling asked the minarai as she poured sake for a guest.
"19, Onee-san." Kohoshi replied and served sake to a guest sitting beside her. Now in the later stage of minarai, Kohoshi was given the task of serving sake and empting ashtrays while observing. It didn't seem like a tough job to outsiders, but it took Syaoran several hours to train her in the art of serving drinks since different alcohol would need to be served in a different way.
"19? Aren't you a bit too old for minarai?" One elderly geiko asked in puzzlement.
"Oh, Miko-san, one can never be too old for anything! Just last week, I heard a 50-year-old lady give birth to a healthy baby!" The guest commented, saving Kohoshi's embarrassment.
"Indeed. Well then, do you think anyone is ever late for her mizuage? From the looks of it, yours will take place when you're 22!" Meiling exclaimed with a laugh.
Not knowing what mizuage was, Kohoshi didn't know how to respond. In the end, she just smiled slightly and used her fan as a cover. Knowing Meiling, what ever she said must have been no good to her.
"Oh my, is she even intact to begin with?" Another geiko, whom Kohoshi later learned to be Meiling's friend, attacked her purity.
"Girls, leave her alone. It is too cruel a thing to say!" The guest-of-honor stopped the conversation.
"Don't be so sensitive, Waka-sama. She only meant it to be a joke!" Meiling stood out to protect her friend.
"Mei-chan, I do remember about a certain rumor floating around when it was your mizuage…" He teased.
Kohoshi took her chance to bite back. "What was it, Waka-sama? Please indulge me with your teachings."
"Please, Waka-sama, it's not worth mentioning after so many years." Meiling pleaded.
"Girls, always keep in mind how powerful words are. It can bring a man to fame, or a woman to death. Jokes are fine, but never go overboard."
"Hei." All the five geishas echo in reply.
The entire topic of mizuage was dropped, and the room was filled with a stiff silence.
"Look how gloomy the entire room has become. Yuko-san, why don't you dance for us?" The host suggested.
"Me?" The junior maiko was flattered. "How can I embarrass myself in front of the talented Meiling Onee-san?"
"Yuko-san, just dance with your spirit! No dance is better than one which was performed with the soul." Meiling encouraged the 15-year-old.
With the encouragement, Yuko stood up and went to a corner of the room where a gold screen was placed at to use as the stage. The elderly geisha, whose name was later known to Kohoshi as Raichi, went beside the stage to play the shamisen for the dance.
The dance was about an unfulfilled love between a courtesan and her lover. Being bonded to her house with a huge debt, she was unable to marry her lover, and so, in order to prove her love for the young man, she committed suicide in the great Kamo River. The tragedy ended with Yuko fluttering her fans to represent snow falling from the sky as the lover joined her in eternal peace.
Everyone applauded when Yuko bowed. She wasn't a good dancer, her fluid movements were far from perfect, but the emotions she brought out during the dance was able to provoke tears from even the most cold-blooded man.
"Wasn't it beautiful? I'm sure Yuko-san will get the lead role in the upcoming royal party." Meiling announced aloud. Kohoshi smiled, but she got Meiling's message: I challenge you to win Yuko and get the lead role.
"Always expect the unexpected, Meiling Onee-san. No one can ever be sure who gets the lead until the audition."
Meiling smiled slyly at Kohoshi before leaving to join the next party.
(I know that I'm making it seem as Kohoshi is actively participating in banquets even when she is only still a minarai, but in actual fact, other that Meiling, no one else really bother with Kohoshi. And since those parties without Meiling were pretty insignificant, I will not describe how they went.)
The minarai week passed like a flash of lightning. Very soon, Kohoshi would debut as the newest Maiko in the hanamachi. While Kohoshi spent her time sitting in banquets to observe, Syaoran was zipping all around to prepare for the debut.
"Otou-san, what's mizuage?" Kohoshi asked suddenly during the morning dance lesson.
"What!" Syaoran responded loudly as he stopped dancing. This is very unlike him because he was always able to multi-task.
"It came up in conversations more than a few times already."
Syaoran paused and motioned Kohoshi to sit in front of him. "Firstly, don't be mistaken. Mizuage is not a common topic of conversation, but I guess that since you're so old, it would be a source of curiosity."
"What is mizuage? What does age have to do with it?" Kohoshi commented lightly.
"Mizuage is a ceremony whereby the highest bidder will get to deflower a virgin maiko. Most girls have their mizuage when they are 16, some even earlier, and so, you are considered very late for mizuage."
"What! How come you've never mentioned it before?" Kohoshi screamed as loud as she possibly can.
Syaoran winced at the horrible noise and waited until the girl calm down before answering the question.
"That's because you are not to have mizuage. Firstly, you may not stay in the hanamachi for long, and so it would be too unreasonable to force you to go through the ceremony. Secondly, you are far too old for mizuage, not at all attractive too. Thirdly, your time as a maiko is too short to attract any bidders at all. And lastly, you may not even be a virgin to begin with. All these add up to a definite answer, doesn't it?"
Kohoshi snorted, "If it wasn't because all these insults spared me from mizuage, or I'll probably hit you real hard!"
"I should thank the gods then…By the way, your debut will be on next Tuesday, and the audition for the dance is on Thursday. You only have few more days to practice. To add on, you will be very busy during the first few days of your debut, visiting as many ochayas as you can and asking favors from everyone in the hanamachi, including the rickshaw pullers."
Kohoshi sighed softly. Every time she feels that she is getting used to being busy, her schedule becomes even tighter. And before she even has the time to prepare, her debut happened, all too soon.
"I'm Kohoshi, please indulge me with your teachings."
As promised, Tomoyo prepared an exquisite formal black kimono with patterns of stars made of real silver threads. Wrapped around her waist was a long golden obi with matching star patterns. Even the usual flower theme hair ornaments were replaced with new star-shaped pins and combs.
As beautiful as she looks in her new wardrobe, after a night of wondering around the hanamachi and begging indulgence from everyone they see, Kohoshi is starting to feel weighed down by the rich fabric and glittering jewels.
"Otou-san, can we rest for 5 minutes? I'm really tired!"
"No." Syaoran replied firmly.
"But we've been to every where already! Can't we just take a break for a few minutes?"
"No."
For two nights, Syaoran will bring Kohoshi around the hanamachi to introduce her to the ochayas and everyone important. In normal circumstances, it would be months before everyone in the hanamachi knows a new maiko since they are obliged to stay for at least an hour before moving on to the next ochaya. But for Kohoshi, Syaoran had decided to skip past the practice of staying for one hour. Instead, they will parade around to give everyone a chance to know the new maiko.
Once, when they went to visit Syaoran's neighbor, an old lady opened the door and invited them in for tea. She was the Oka-san of the okiya and was Meiling's mother.
"Li-san, why isn't Kohoshi-san's Onee-san here with her?"
"Oh, Kohoshi-san doesn't have one. It didn't seem right to get her an Onee-san when her stay may be as short as 2 months." Syaoran replied politely.
"How would Kohoshi-san learn if she doesn't have an Onee-san to look after her in the banquets? I'm sure Li-san is a great trainer, but that doesn't allow you to sit in the parties and teach her things. Please take my advice; an Onee-san will do much good to her career."
Syaoran thought for a while, apparently he had never thought about having someone in the banquet to teach Kohoshi the practical aspects of a geisha.
"Would anyone be willing to take Kohoshi-san? She would not stay for long, and her little earnings could hardly be considered as an attractive incentive."
The Oka-san smiled kindly. Syaoran's mother was her best friend and so it was almost her duty to help the ambitious man in fulfilling his dreams.
"Would you accept my humble offer, Meiling-san can be Kohoshi-san's Onee-san."
Blood instantly drained out of Syaoran's face. Indeed, if the same offer is given to any other girl, she would have accepted it with nothing but a smile. However, Kohoshi is no other girl in the hanamachi, she is Meiling's rival. No one can predict how Meiling would react to the new relation. Will she be a responsible person and not let her feelings get to her duty? Or will she take advantage of the situation and destroy Kohoshi?
"Please, Otou-san, we shouldn't trouble Meiling Onee-san at all." Kohoshi mumbled softly, but still loud enough for Syaoran to hear.
Syaoran smiled slightly as he realized that Kohoshi had learned more than music and dance in the past week. She is now a full fledge geisha, one who has mastered the art of conversation and is able to turn any situation to her advantage. In that moment, Syaoran was sure that Kohoshi would manage well even without an Onee-san.
"Indeed, Meiling-san is already busy with her own younger sister, Yuko-san, I should not ask favors from her at all. Kohoshi-san may not be bright, but I'm sure she can manage on her own. I thank you for your generous offer."
"If you're sure… But if you ever change your mind, please call me." The Oka-san said.
"Of course." Syaoran bowed, then stood up to leave.
At the doorway, Syaoran readjusted Kohoshi's long obi and held her hand so that she can slip into her tall okobos steadily. All this was witnessed by Meiling when she and Yuko entered the okiya.
They all bowed to each other as a greeting and Meiling immediately launched into attack mode.
"Kohoshi-san! What a pleasant surprise, it seems like only last week when Oka-san Kikuko introduced you as the new minarai. How time flies!"
"Meiling Onee-san, it was last week. Or perhaps your memory is failing you." Kohoshi commented with a smile.
Meiling turned sour, "I'm sure that's not the case. I clearly remember that tomorrow is the audition for the royal ball."
"My mistake, Onee-san. And I wish you luck for the audition. Even the most beautiful geisha can't get the lead role if she can't dance!"
Seeing that it's time to intervene before the girls start cat fighting, Syaoran apologized for having to stick to tight schedule and ushered Kohoshi out of the house.
Time Gap
"The loveliest eyes I've ever seen…" murmurs like such could be heard floating around while Kohoshi walked to the dance studio for her audition. She's been practicing all night in hope to get the lead role. If she isn't chosen for one of the 2 lead roles in the dance, the entire bet would be over.
"Girls, you may practice in the dance studio. When it is your turn, Sensei Sakiko will call your name and bring you to the examination hall."
"Hei." Everyone bowed and they each gather into their own small groups to practice, leaving Kohoshi alone in one corner.
Almost every geisha has come for the audition. The youngest of them all was a 14-year-old maiko and the oldest being a 32-year-old geiko. Just down the hallway, another audition is held to choose musicians and singers. Several geishas who wanted to audition for both music and dance had to walk to and fro the two studios to check if it's their turn yet.
Apparently, the audition for dance is based on seniority and this leaves Kohoshi last in the waiting line. (Seniority in the Geisha world is based on the time of debut, not age.) By the time Kohoshi is called in for her dance, everyone is hungry and tired of seeing the same dance over and over again. The lead roles must have already been more or less decided.
"Kohoshi desu, yoroshiku onegai shimas! (Same meaning as 'please offer me your teachings')"
"Please perform for us, 'The Cherries of the Capital'" One of the 3 judges said.
Kohoshi bowed in reply and the music for the dance started. Describing the meeting of a young girl and her first love during spring, the dance is cheery and romantic. It's the most simple of the 3 dances the odorikos (dancing girls) were asked to prepare, and according to Syaoran, it is used to decide if the girl gets to be in the dance.
Kohoshi marked a perfect ending to 'The Cherries of the Capital' and bowed to the judges. Although it is really tempting to see how the judges have reacted to her performance, Kohoshi kept her head to the floor and waited for the next instruction.
"Wonderful performance, please move on to 'Gion's autumn leaves'" The head judge said.
Kohoshi looked up in surprise. 'Gion's autumn leaves' is a tough piece which is used to decide if the dancer is fit for the lead role and is seldom performed unless the girl is a master in dance. Kohoshi was not sure how to react since both Syaoran and her had expected the judge to request for 'The sorrows of Kamo', the same dance which Yuko had performed just days earlier. After hesitating for few seconds, she noticed that the judges were looking at her kindly and she decides to do as requested.
In perfect crisp movements, Kohoshi acted out the story of a kind mother sending her only son off to Tokyo for university. This piece is difficult because most geishas had never experienced such emotions before. Moreover, this is an advanced piece, giving the dancer a rare freedom to change the original moves of the dance to express herself better.
Somehow, one way or another, Kohoshi finished her dance even before she realized that she started it. Whatever she had performed was not registered in her brain at all, only one brief moment when she peeked at the judges and saw stunned looks. Other than that, it was as if she had not even been to the audition.
"How was it?" Syaoran asked when he saw that Kohoshi had returned the dance studio.
"I don't know."
Before the man can ask further, a woman in ruby red kimono commented, "Oh, don't be too sad. You'll get another chance to perform in the annual Spring Dances."
"Meiling-san, that wasn't very nice of you. Who are you to judge if Kohoshi-san managed to get in or not?"
Meiling smiled, as coincidentally, it was also the time when the result of the audition is announced.
"After much discussion, we now have the final result of the audition for the Royal Performance" Sensei announced to all the geishas from both the music and dance categories.
"The leads for the Royal Dance will be Meiling-san and Kohoshi-san…"
Other than that, Kohoshi could hear nothing else. She has got the lead role!
To Be Continued
AN: It's a long time, isn't it? Well, that's what you get when there are not enough reviews to clear my head of writer's block. I've just started a forum on the topic of geisha, so if there is anything you want to know about geisha, feel free to post the question up there. But please, review first before you click away from the page!