I also have another question (sorry,these two things seem to stump me) In past documentaries I have watched (kyoto/Asakusa area) and other info There are girls/women who join okiyas and start at their training at a later age (18+) I thought girls in kyoto were only accepted at 14-16 years old? Do you think they would accept older girls because of the decline in culture? or because they begged places one after the other? how do you think the older girls join okiyas?

In Kyoto, girls who come to the okiya and are too old to become maiko will usually debut straight as geiko (usually girls who are 20+ ,because they’re too old to become maiko). However, it’s considered a privilege to have gone through the maiko stage.

And I think rules in Asakusa and Kyoto are very different,atleast that’s how it seems to me.