Secret Moments of Maikos - The Grace Beauty and Mystery of Apprentice Geisha

Shot by photographer Philippe Marinig and released with Gatehouse Publishing, ‘Secret Moments of Maikos’ offers a rare fly on the wall style insight into the closely guarded existence of Gion’s apprentice geisha.

You may perhaps be wondering how an ‘outsider' was granted access to the maiko’s private lodgings, and all is revealed in the foreword. We learn that this was ‘a challenge almost impossible to achieve’, but through a mixture of ‘brutal honesty’ ‘old fashioned charm’ and ‘purity of intention’ the maikos let down their guard and granted Philippe Marinig the opportunity to photograph them:

“First they allowed flattery, then they allowed intimacy by letting him enter the okiya (lodging) and, finally, they offered their complicity to work with him on this project”.

The result is a book filled with an array of images that are precious in their rarity. They are candid and natural, revealing a world that goes beyond the aesthetic beauty of painted faces and elaborate kimono.

Our first glimpse into this intimate world of apprentice geisha starts before you've even opened the pages. The sizeable book has weight, and the grey linen cover and plain black typography give the book a quiet air of understated luxury. The single image of a maiko looking down between two linen curtains gives us a taster of what lies within.

The images are captured in a way that builds up a feeling of mystery and secrecy, almost as if Philippe Marinig is a fly on the wall capturing the maikos unaware or in quiet moments of personal contemplation.

A mix of portraits and detail shots gradually help us to build up an insight into the maiko’s daily lives; a pond of koi, an autumn tree, a maiko quietly making her way through a dimly lit street or kneeling at a low table. A feeling of quiet serenity envelops the whole series. The images have a feeling of softness to them, with low light and hazy backgrounds, motion blur and rich colours.

Haiku which compliment the imagery are scattered throughout (written in both Japanese and English). An image of a maiko looking towards the floor framed with fabric is accompanied by a haiku that doesn’t explain, but somehow fits perfectly with the image:

Festive flower robes

Left clinging as I undress

many coloured cords

Sugita Hisajo (1890-1946)

The book flows softly from page to page allowing us to concentrate on the imagery and letting us fall head first into this secret world without being distracted. As we reach the end it's tempting to go back and look through again, and again, each time picking up a new detail.

‘Secret Moments of Maikos’ is a harmonious mix of intricacy and simplicity. Other photographers may have captured the beauty of geisha out and about in the streets of Gion, but this is altogether a different experience. The lasting feeling is that we have accessed a world that we will probably never get to see first hand.