Maiko Toshikana is currently wearing the sakkou hairstyle.
All photos by YASU733 - BLOG. Click for more!
Sakkou is the final hairstyle of Kyoto maiko. It is worn just before erikae (becoming a geiko) or eventual retirement. Toshikana is going to be a geiko this month.
Each district has its own customs for the sakkou period - in Miyagawacho where Toshikana lives, it is worn with black formal kimono (kuromontsuki), black lacquered okobo and rich red collar with gold sequins. Sakkou is very formal and special phase.
This hairstyle is the most expensive and complicated one - initially worn by newly married women in old Japan. It has been adapted by maiko as a sign of devotion to this profession. Becoming a geiko is just like getting married to the arts.
TEXT BY GEISHA-KAI.
