As Japanese ex-maiko spills the tea on sexual assault, will other geishas say #MeToo?
- Kiyoha Kiritaka, who was a trainee geisha when she was 16, has lifted the lid on the secretive culture surrounding the youngsters
- In social media posts, she details cases of sexual assault, depression and attempted suicide, although observers say harassment is not the norm
But viral tweets by a former maiko – an apprentice geisha – have highlighted that there is criminal and sexist treatment amid the centuries-old and secretive culture.
Kiyoha Kiritaka, 23, sparked debate when her posts lifted the lid on her time as a maiko in Kyoto’s traditional district of Pontocho.
Maikos, usually aged around 15-20, learn to sing and dance and play traditional instruments during parties and banquets.
But Kiritaka’s brave revelations, based on her experiences at 16, have shown there can be a real dark side to “what people see as traditional culture”.
She said she faced sexual harassment, where customers would “reach under my kimono and touch my breasts and crotch”, but when she told the head of the geisha house, known as okasan, “she got angry at me and said it was my fault”.
In her tweets, which were shared or ‘liked’ around half a million times, Kiritaka also said she had been “forced to drink so much alcohol” and pressured into bathing with clients but managed to flee. The legal age for drinking in Japan is 20.
