Maiko — 舞妓

A maiko — an apprentice geisha, traditionally found in Kyoto — appears here in her distinctive costume: the elaborate hairstyle with dangling ornaments, the trailing furisode kimono, the white-painted face that marks her profession. Takasawa brings his bijin-ga sensibility to this iconic subject, treating the maiko not as exotic spectacle but as a young woman in a specific moment of her life. The formality of the print's visual vocabulary echoes the formality of the maiko's training.