A wind of optimism hugged me as I emerged from the train station, but it went away in an instant. But I had a hunch. Call it intuition.
Call it lack of faith. My track record with Lady Luck had not been shining, shimmering, and definitely not splendid at all. I doubted fate would be so kind to allow me to see any geisha even at this place.
Gion District is famous for two iconic forms of traditional Japanese entertainment β the kabuki and the geisha. They are what people from all over the world travel to Kyoto for. While they are very different from each other, their roots are intricately tangled. I was thankful that once in my life my soles touched the ground where these two art forms burgeoned and flourished.
The first structure to greet me was a grey four-story building along Shijo Street. The Minamiza Theater was one of the seven theaters that staged the first formally organized kabuki shows. The year was A maiden named Izumo-no-Okuni set up a stage on the dry bed of Shijo River and performed new dances and skits to raise funds for Izumo Shrine, where she came from.
She quickly attracted flocks of audiences and even taught other young women her ways, thereby establishing a new form of entertainment. Kabuki, it was called. In , the seven theaters along Shijo were built. The other six closed in the 19th century, making Minamiza the oldest and the only remaining original kabuki theater that continues to host performances today.
