New Year, New Kind of Geisha?
Visit Sayuki's WebsiteAs I'm sure most geisha enthusiasts already know, Aussie social anthropolgist Fiona Graham made her formal debut as a geisha in Tokyo's Asakusa district on December 19th after a year of training, or "feild work", as she refers to it on her website. Just in time to begin the new year as Japan's first western, professional geisha, she is already planning to release a book entitled "Sayuki: Inside the Flower and Willow World" and a documentary that will be filmed throughout the year.
The maiko of Kyoto endure intensive training for 5-6 years before earning the honor of turning their collars and becoming full-fledged geiko.
Graham's professional name, Sayuki, comes from the Chinese character 紗 sa, meaning gossamer and 幸 yuki, meaning happiness, wish or fortune. This could be translated a number of ways: Delicate Delight, Ethereal Joy, or Sheer Bliss (^_^)v
Graham recieved her MBA in Psychology and teaching from Oxford before beginging her study of social anthropology. She has spent half of her life in Japan, graduating from a Japanese high school long before becoming the first western woman to graduate from Tokyo's Keio University.
Read the Telegraph's article: Westerner inducted into mysteries of geisha
Where Did 2007 Take You?
1. Angkor Wat, Cambodia :
3. Battambang, Cambodia:
Went on a tuk-tuk tour with my old friends, the monks, wandered the rice fields, took a ride on the bamboo express and spent some quality time with my Cambodian family.
4. Taipei, Taiwan:
Spent a wonderful night curled up on an airport coffee shop couch shaking after drinking my first cup of real coffee EVER. What does Taiwain have against Chai tea?!
5. Nagoya, Aichi, Japan:
An oasis of Chai in a veritable dessert of delicious, non-coffee drinks!
6. Ena, Gifu, Japan:
Emraced by rolling mountains and chock full of rice fields, the lovely little city I was blessed to call home: Winter, Spring, Summer, and Autumn
7. Matsumoto, Nagano, Japan:
Castle-bound, a lovely little roadtrip gone right!
8. Nagano, Japan:
Lovely little roadtrip gone wrong- but what a great adventure!
9. Kyoto, Japan:
Geisha, festivals, temples, palaces. My happy place- a home away from home... away from home.
10. Tokyo, Japan:
Adentures with the Howell Kyodai.
11. Osaka, Japan
Reuniting with my Gaidai friends is always fun!
12. Nara,Japan:
A suprise trip to the ancient captial, ablaze with the colors of fall, to view the Shoso-In Exhibition of National Treasures. Icredible!
13. Inuyama, Aichi, Japan:
Japan's oldest castle: another great desitination for a roadtrip.
14. Cleveland, Ohio, USA
15. Omaha, Nebraska, USA
16. Duluth, Minnesota, USA
Where did the year take you?
Share your list in the comments section!