Kohana - Tumblr Posts

Masuume’s Enduring Little Flower

She will be remembered as one of the Maiko who braved through the unprecedented hardship of the Corona Pandemic of 2020 to become a great Geiko. Kohana has all the assets and the allure to become an elite Geiko, one of those who, with much hope and optimism, can contribute to the success of Gion Kobu’s kagai for many years to come.

Kohana, the little Flower, debuted pretty much unannounced from an unlikely okiya: Masuume. The legendary okiya is well known even to outsiders through its iconic, intricately cobbled entrance that leads through an elegant Japanese garden but it had not brought forth Maiko in some time. The date of her debut was May 26th 2016. Had anyone been asked about how the world would look like just 4 years later, never would they have imagined a scenario like the one we are currently living though on a global scale.

From the start Kohana made herself quite rare for photos. I remember how finding decent pictures was a struggle, specially since she indeed has such a lovely smile, a very sophisticated look and an incredible wardrobe and resources at her fingertips through her okiya. Of course hopes were high for her. Oftentimes observers speculate over retirements when there are few pictures of Maiko and with Kohana, the discourse drew its circles around this too. She was elusive and exclusive from the start, a great feat for Gion Kobu’s Maiko. But it also describes best how people saw her cards. She had a great advantage debuting from such a prestigious okiya but she was always seen as quite solitary. Nonetheless she drew her strength from her sisters from the whole kagai.

I must also remark that when going through her threads on the forums, there seems to be some mix ups happening with other Maiko-san. Many other girls have been mistaken for Kohana and vice versa. She seems to have this incredible talent to blend in, to make herself invisible, all to contribute to the best scenario for her sisters and patrons. This had greatly contributed to her unique success during her apprenticeship.

Here at last we get to admire her triumph as a Maiko, and it’s unmistakeble: Her Sakkou.

And indeed it is one of the most gorgeous, most luxurious we have seen: From her expert appearance with her flawless nihongami and perfect makeup that make her look so elegant and mature, to her exquisite hiki, the epitome of Japanese art. We see feathery pine in lush green, and the play of her kanzashi, the crane which seems not only to be an enduring motif for sakkou kanzashi in general, but also specially beloved by the graduation year 2020. But Kohana’s crane was filigree and delicate while Mitsuki and Mamekinu went with more fleshed out versions. Here, for once, Kohana stood out to me. She was the star among stars. In the midst of a crucial trial for the Karyukai, she went beyond her graduation and her iconic look, i believe, will go down as one of the most beautiful Sakkou ever.

Maybe i’m overreacting. But can’t this be understood when looking at the above photo? Even a few months ago, were we certain that this Maiko would see a Sakkou?

It is an exalted hoorah, a celebration of life and the continuity that makes up the water that travels though the floating world. It reminds us that life is ever evolving and that great things cannot be held back. Like Kohana, life will go on. Like Kohana, life will find a way to succeed and like Kohana, we will endure and become better than ever.

Source: Kichirobi on Instagram