80 Gei-Maiko Pray "Miyabikai Osendo" at Yasaka Shrine in Kyoto

 

The "Miyabikai Osendo" ceremony was held at Yasaka Shrine (Higashiyama Ward, Kyoto) on 8 July in conjunction with the Gion Festival, where gei-maiko (Geisha and maiko) from the Gion Kobu area pray for the improvement of their skills and for good health in matching yukatas.

This is an annual event of the Miyabikai, a group of students of the Kyomai Inoue School, but it was cancelled in 2020 and scaled back last year due to the pandemic, making it the first time in three years that it has been held as usual.

Geisha and maiko went around the main shrine, greeting each other with "Ohayo-san-dosu (Good morning)" and receiving purification,
Yachiyo Inoue, 65, fifth generation lemoto of the Inoue School and a living national treasure, who visited the shrine together, said: "It was gorgeous to be together for the first time in a long time. I asked for the Gion Festival to go smoothly."