Japanese geisha are taking to the stage in Tokyo for the weeklong Azuma Odori festival. This year marks the centenary of the annual event, which has carried on a tradition despite dwindling numbers.
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00:00These are some of Japan's few remaining geisha. Historically hired to entertain the country's
00:13wealthy elite, they're in all their splendor here in Tokyo, rehearsing for the annual Uzumodori
00:19festival. The event is now on its 100th year and for the first time ever, it's featuring geisha
00:25from 19 different regions. Each region has its own characteristics, so even though we're all
00:33geisha, we don't dance in the same way. I hope people will enjoy those differences, like the
00:38kimono patterns or dance styles. It's rare to have geisha from 19 different entertainment quarters
00:43gathered like this, so I hope everyone enjoys it. Kawaku is one of the 180 geisha performing at this
00:50year's festival. She was drawn to the profession by her love of dancing and the shamisen, a
00:55classical three-stringed instrument. It allowed her to earn a living in traditional arts, which,
01:00as a woman, would have otherwise been challenging. But the profession is often misunderstood. Not to
01:06be mistaken for a courtesan, a geisha is, as the Japanese translation indicates, a person of the
01:12arts. Their mastery of traditional art forms historically made them a key part of government
01:17banquet culture, and those skills take lengthy, tough training to hone.
01:22It usually takes about 10 years before a young woman becomes recognized as a proper geisha
01:27dancer. Many quit before getting there, and some give up even after finally becoming good
01:32dancers. It's really hard to train the younger generation.
01:35Those rehearsing here are the ones that didn't give up. Some have been performing for five or six
01:49decades. But while their abilities haven't diminished, the 40 geisha that remain in Kawaku's district in
01:55Tokyo are a far cry from the numbers during the industry's former heyday. And the challenge of
02:01training younger generations isn't the only thing that's whittled away at its popularity.
02:06From the 1960s onwards, the number of geisha declined because men who used to be their clients
02:12changed. Men lost interest in the traditional banquet culture and geisha entertainment. So the
02:17number of geisha also began to drop.
02:20As interest in the art form continues to decline, Iwashita says Japanese people have no idea what the
02:26former geisha world was truly like. He recalls a time when every town, even in rural areas,
02:32had traditional high-end restaurants where geisha would entertain.
02:41While geisha performances are now a rare sight, those in the industry hope they can find a way
02:47to reverse the declining trend. The future may be uncertain, but for now, geisha celebrates no small
02:54feat of shining in this festival's spotlight a century on. Kama Xu and Izzy Wells for Taiwan Plus.