An Okiya: Geisha House
An okiya is a Japanese lodging house where maiko or geisha live as she fulfills her 'nenki' (the Japanese word for a geisha's contract with her particular okiya).
The very first step in becoming a geisha is to be legally accepted into an okiya, which may or may not be hard depending on the young woman's connections with the house. Most girls who come to live at an Okiya must be under the tender age of 15, for it is better for a geisha to begin her training at a young age as geisha etiquette takes a lifetime to perfect. So the younger a geisha begins her apprenticeship and artistry, the better.
Three young maiko in an okiya courtyard garden.
An okiya will pay for all of the things a trainee needs: kimono, makeup, trips to the hair salon, the cost of class training, and amongst all the other expenses that goes with the karyūkai (Flower and Willow World) lifestyle. In the old days, girls would be sold to the geisha houses as young as five or six years old. Then the okāsan (house mother) would become the legal guardian of the prospective geisha. Shackled in debt for their training, elegant kimono and board, these geisha were virtual prisoners. Nowadays, girls are no longer forced into becoming geisha.
An okiya courtyard garden.
All okiyas are owned by proprietresses who are called the okāsan ('mother'). The okāsan trains the shikomi (trainee) and acts as a second mother to her. This bond will play a huge part in the shikomi's life as she trains to become a geisha. The other women also living in the okiya become her sisters while the okāsan manages the bills and books the maiko and geisha for ozashiki.
Painting of an okiya.
Geisha can be legally adopted as the okāsan's atotori (heiress). This means that a geisha will be able to legally inherit the okāsan's property. As the atotori, she will live in the okiya permanently, all of her debts will be absorbed by the house, and her income will directly fund the household and all of its workers, this is seen as a great honor. When the okāsan dies, she will fully inherit the okiya and become the new okāsan.
A maiko stepping out of her okiya.
When a prospective geishar ecruit (or "geiko" in the Kyoto dialect) arrives at the okiya, she is a shikomi and must be obedient and work her way up by doing all she is told and honoring her senior sisters and respecting the rules of the house.
She will also be introduced to others who live in the hanamachi (flower town) and will meet other okiya proprietresses within the local geisha community, other working geishas and the owners of the local ochayas (teahouses) where geishas work and perform in. She will also be expected to train alongside maiko and geiko and gain proficiency in music and dance. This usually happens before her formal debut ceremony. The hanamachi is sometimes the closest a geisha will ever get to having a family.
A geisha stands in front of an okiya.
The okāsan also provides meals and clothes for the residents of the okiya. It is not unlikely for there to be food or alchohol, but that is not always the case, especially for business meetings or professional events.
A percentage of a geisha's earnings will go to maintaining the household and supporting the people who live there, that includes the retired geisha, maids, and the maiko. A licensed okiya does not always have geisha living there, but at the same time, another okiya may have more than one working geisha or maiko living there. A geisha who has fulfilled her nenki can choose to live independently, but will always have a relationship will the okiya, business-wise or personally.
Inside of an okiya
In the karyūkai, it is a predominantly female society in itself, the people there hold female children higher than male children as only women may carry on the traditions of a geisha. And as it is forbidden for men to live in an okiya, if a woman has a male child she must either move out or give him to a family member or up for adoption. This is also why most geisha never marry.
Geisha inside of an okiya.
The karyūkai is a society which needs cooperation from people to run successfully. Women run it, they work in it, they live in it; it is their livelihood, and years ago it saved many from the toxic lifestyle of prostitution. And although geisha do have many male clients, women patronize them as well, it is an outdated idea that geisha only serve male clients and that they are prostitutes; they are not like oiran. It is a very secretive society that has existed for over 400 years. This is due to the geisha code of silence which is rarely (if ever) broken.