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Today I visited the Nishijin textile centre & museum. They had their own kimono-fashion-show, a weavery and a big museum-shop. The best part however, was the dress-up-like-a-Japanese photo-shoot. I choose the more-is-more version of the 12 layered wedding-kimono! Full on with wig and makeup and the works. 12 layers of heavy silk over a pair of wide trousers that are 2 meters long\u2026 it does\u00b4t make it easy to move.<\/p>\n
![\"2016-10-17-06-47-09\"](\"http:\/\/www.spindelmaker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/2016-10-17-06.47.09-450x538.gif\")
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From now on, this will be my official portrait! Ha, ha, ha\u2026 no, I\u00b4m just kidding. But it is nonetheless probably the closest I\u00b4ll get to my 5-year-old self of becoming a princess.<\/p>\n
![\"2016-10-17-06-36-17\"](\"http:\/\/www.spindelmaker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/2016-10-17-06.36.17-450x552.gif\")
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I had two women doing my makeup and dressing me.&nbsp;I thought it was interesting to see how the inner clothing was, and how everything was arranged as they added layers.<\/p>\n
![\"2016-10-17-06-51-06\"](\"http:\/\/www.spindelmaker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/2016-10-17-06.51.06-450x300.gif\")
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Dressed as a bride for her adding, or even resembling an imperial princess. But not a geisha. So when the photo-session was over, I visited an indigo weavers atelier. No geishas, but hand-dyed silk yarn.<\/p>\n
![\"2016-10-17-07-36-33\"](\"http:\/\/www.spindelmaker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/2016-10-17-07.36.33-450x300.gif\")
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From there I went on to the Shibori museum. Shibori is a 1300 hundred years old tradition of dyeing. By tying tiny knots on the silk cloth with fine thread, you make a resist the dye won\u00b4t penetrate when the fabric is lowered into the dye-pan. You can make amazing patterns, but it requires a vast amount of work. The picture below is showing half of a picture it took 40 people 2 years to make (on their free-time) Oh, and I got to try on a shibori\/embroidered silk kimono. But still no geishas\u2026<\/p>\n
![\"2016-10-17-07-47-46\"](\"http:\/\/www.spindelmaker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/2016-10-17-07.47.46-450x427.gif\")
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So in the evening I joined a geisha-spotting-tour, which sounds a bit silly, but we learned a lot of history and tradition. And got to walk around in the Gion-district, which houses some of the oldest, well-known tea-houses in Japan.<\/p>\n
![\"2016-10-17-12-08-20\"](\"http:\/\/www.spindelmaker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/2016-10-17-12.08.20-450x502.gif\")
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And guess what?! We finally spotted a real life geisha! Coming out from a theatre after her performance, rushing past everyone at an impressive speed on her 5 inch (12 cm) high wooden sandals. On her way to a private party at a tea-house. With at least 5 years of training, this tradition has seen a small upswing in recruitment the past years, after years of decline.<\/p>\n
![\"2016-10-17-12-45-29\"](\"http:\/\/www.spindelmaker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/2016-10-17-12.45.29-450x578.gif\")
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Now there are around 200 geishas in Kyoto, and 80 maikos (apprentices). They start their training at 15, and after 5 years become a geisha. They can stay a geisha as long as they don\u00b4t marry, and the oldest one is over 90 years old!<\/p>\n
Oh, and if you thought that a geisha was a prostitute, you are wrong! It is forbidden to touch them. They are great entertainers who sing and dance and make great conversation-partners.<\/p>\n
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Today I visited the Nishijin textile centre & museum. They had their own kimono-fashion-show, a weavery and a big museum-shop. The best<\/p>\n