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What is a Furisode-san?
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A Furisode-san is an imitation Tokyo geisha. They dress like Tokyo apprentice geisha and they have 3-6 months dance training.They
must retire at age 25. From what I understand they are like kimono clad hostesses. You will only find them in Japan.
(In japanese only)
www.furisodesan.com
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What is a kimono-san?
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A Kimono-san is similar to a Furisode-san in that she wears kimono (not necessarily a Furisode). She is a geisha-like person,
who is paid to entertain in kimono at parties with games, music, dance, story telling, tarot readings, or conversation. She
makes her clients feel like they have done no wrong, can do no wrong, and will never do any wrong.
A Kimono-san is meant to look like geisha, but they are not geisha. Kimono-san provides a geisha-like experience for
their customers at a fraction of the cost. At present they are only found outside of Japan.
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Can I join your okiya? (geisha house)
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My okiya is currently just this web site, not a Japanese house in St.Louis as someone once thought. You don't need to live
near St.Louis, MO to be a kimono-san, however, if you live near St.Louis I would love to work with you.
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How do I start my own okiya?
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As for starting your own okiya all that is required is....
1) At least one nice complete kimono set better then a yukata.
2) Learn how to wear it.
3) Learn at least one kimono-san art/skills (See next question) Have at least 6 months practice in it.
4) Three nice photos of you in your kimono, a small bio and a kimono-san name. You can start your own web site and we
will link to you.
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What skills must I have?
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A lot of people when they want to become a kimono-san list things like cooking, sewing, paintng and jewelry making as their
skills. Yes, these are legitimate forms of art, but not something a Kimono-san or a geisha would consider as part of her arts.
A kimono-san's arts consists of one or all of the below ...
Kitsuki (wearing kimono)
Mandatory
Japanese dance
Japanese song & music
Fortune telling (Tarot, I Ching, etc.)
Storytelling
Magic tricks
Telling Jokes
Conversation
Tea ceremony
Practice as much as possible and study hard.
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What is the age range?
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16-untill you choose to quit.
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Is being a kimono-san a full-time job?
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Not at present.
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What items do I need? Can they be homemade?
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They can be homemade but they must be up to standards. I would be happy to inspect them for you on request. To get an idea
for what you need take a look at the kimono sets at Yamatoku.
www.yamatoku.jp/classic/
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Where do I have to live?
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If you have a Japanese restaurant or garden in your area you should be fine.
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Do I have to be Japanese/have black hair?
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You don't need to be Japanese.
You don't have to have black hair. If you can get a katsura (geisha wig) that would be great, if not just use your own
hair.
(only in Japanese)
http://www6.ocn.ne.jp/%7Eyamato93/
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