Of all the points of entry into gravure, we are well used to women side-stepping into the industry from other jobs like music idols, fashion models, ring girls, race queens, and convention booth companions.
But geisha?!
Rino (莉乃) is a 22-year-old from Shizuoka who moved to Kyoto at 16 to become a maiko, or apprentice geisha. She worked in the old capital as a maiko in the Miyagawacho district until the age of 20.
She has now made her debut in the rather less glamorous but more modern world of gravure with a shoot for Weekly Friday. And in a very competitive industry in which new idols make their debut all the time, Rino’s past certainly makes her stand out.
We suppose her previous vocation made her familiar with being on display for others and wearing lots of makeup, though we suspect the clothing is rather different. Gravure models tend to wear decidedly fewer items than a geisha, plus what they do wear for their shoots is typically a swimsuit or lingerie.
In an interview for the issue, Rino says she struggled a little with the shoot because she was asked to pose like she was waiting for a boyfriend, but she confesses that this was hard because she has never had a boyfriend before. Maiko belong to a closed world and their lives are strictly controlled by their overseers.
Despite the famous traditions of the geisha world, it has its fair share of negatives, and women have spoken out about abuse. The truth is, while their clothing is different and they learn impressive skills as performers, maiko and geisha are effectively treated like hostesses, rented out to (older male) patrons for their entertainment at dinner. It’s a kind of relationship that doesn’t always end well for the women.
