A Wish Beneath the Blossoms

They say cherry blossoms last only a moment, but one spring afternoon in Gion, their falling petals carried me across centuries.

The air was thick with humidity that day, as my class went on our field trip. This semester we had been studying traditional Japanese performing arts; much to my delight.

Every history lesson had felt like a doorway into another world: kabuki plays, the haunting notes of the shamisen, the solemn beauty of Noh masks. I adored every second of it.

My classmates, however, acted like it was torture. Even when we were given the chance to handle instruments or paint our faces with oshiroi makeup, they groaned and rolled their eyes. I couldn’t understand them. How could anyone resist the shimmer of a silk kimono, or the chance to pluck a koto string and imagine themselves on stage? To me, it was the definition of elegance.

While the others dreamed of volleyball games and fast food dates, I dreamed of another time... The Tokugawa era, when feminine artistry was truly revered, and a geisha’s grace could outshine any jewel.

So when our teacher announced a field trip from our sleepy town of Hiyama to Kyoto’s Gion district - the beating heart of geisha culture - I felt my wish had come true.

The train whisked us there in just over an hour. Stepping out into the Gion district felt so surreal.

The blushing pink trees leaning over the pathway created a magical looking entrance into the word of geisha. I watched as the petals fell into the twinkling stream below.

I heard a noise from behind me, my class was all staring at something.

"Look! Look!" Someone shouted, "Quick! Get a photo!"

I was curious, so I went to look.

What everyone was looking at, was a geisha, or should I say, geiko, as they do in Kyoto, making her way from one teahouse to another. People were gawking, my classmates, tourists, and other passers-by. The path she was trying to walk on was blocked by people taking her photo.

"That poor lady..." I said, it must feel so irritating to be treated like a spectacle like that!

"Give her some space!" I shouted, and my teacher gave me a stern look.

"Sakiko is obsessed with this stuff! Hehehe" A classmate said, and it sent the whole class into a wave of giggles. Hmph. Has no one any respect for tradition here?!

I wandered off down a path a little, leading me to a small bridge across a trickling stream. Cherry blossom trees flowered overhead, and a large wisteria tree dripped its' purple blossom-clad branches into the water.

I could hear my classmates' voices echoing behind me, moving off to another place, but I stayed staring at the water.

We learnt in class that the number of geiko in Gion was steadily declining... There were only around 90 performing... A dying profession, they called it.

The thought of that made my heart ache. To lose a such gorgeous art form that has defined our culture...

A warm breeze blew, and shook some pink petals down. I took a deep breath in, inhaling their sweet scent.

A blossom petal landed on the tip of my nose, I closed my eyes, and I thought;

"I wish, I wish, with all my heart, that I could be a geisha, in a time that appreciates traditional arts..."

Another warm breeze blew, but slightly stronger this time. A lot stronger.

I opened my eyes, and my vision was filled with pink petals scattering past in the wind.

It blew harder still, "Ah! What is this?! A typhoon?", I thought.

The wind finally died down, and the sea of petals cleared.

I looked around, shoot! Where was my class?! I dashed back to where I last saw them - but they weren't there.

I started to feel panicked, so I paced back and forwards for a moment, deciding what to do. Maybe I could venture off alone, and hopefully run into them? Or I could ask someone to borrow their phone and ring the school...

In my pacing, I accidentally bumped into someone. When I looked up to apologise - I gasped.

It was a geiko!

"Ah! I'm terribly sorry, Miss!" I said, and bowed. My cheeks went hot.

"You should be!" She said.

...Huh? I... Didn't expect that response, somehow. I thought geiko were always polite!

"Sister Maki has been looking for you all over, Sakiko!" She said, furrowing her brow.

"Ah, Maki? Looking? Me? What?" The words came out as a jumble.

"Oh, come on! We're late already!" The geiko cried out, and grabbed my arm.

I had no idea what was going on, I was being whisked away by a geiko deeper into the hanamachi - flower village - of Gion, where only geiko and maiko are allowed to go!

"I am Hana, by the way," The geiko says, dipping her head slightly. Her tortoiseshell comb positioned in front of her hair bun gleams in the light.

She has kind eyes, but she seems quite stern. Best not to ask too many questions right now, I think.

I bow back. "Nice to meet you, Hana."

Hana pushes me into a little building with a tiled roof. It looks so quaint and gorgeous... But never mind that!! What was going on here?!

"Here she is! Sorry we are late, sorry we are late!" Hana says and bows. She nudges me in the side.

"Ah! Sorry we are late!" I repeat, and bow.

I look up from my bow to see where we are. It appears we are inside a kimono shop. There are gorgeously embroidered kimono stretched across stands, with patterns of clouds, birds, dragons, flowers... They are all so incredibly beautiful, my mouth drops open in awe.

There is a picture of Tokugawa Ieyasu hanging up on the wall. What an odd thing to display, I thought, the Tokugawa period ended ages ago...

"Welcome, welcome," A voice says from below.

I entirely missed the old lady in front of me, she's so short I could barely see her! The old lady is stooped over, one hand on her back.

She is wearing a gorgeous kimono like the ones on display, with gold thread embroidering making a picture of a sun emitting rays of light.

Her grey hair is pulled back in a tight bun, and her skin is wrinkled like an old plum.

"This must be... Ah... Sakiko-chan, was it?" The old lady asks, "I'm Granny Nanako, nice to meet you."

I bow back, still not certain what was going on here.

"Yes Granny Nobue," Hana answers Granny Nobue's question for me, "This is Sakiko, the new maiko."

HUH?! My eyes feel like they are about to pop out of my head.

The shock must show on my face, because Hana and the old lady laugh.

"Did you forget, dear?" The old lady says with a chuckle.

"Ah, um, ah... Uh?!" I mumble.

"More importantly, what in the heavens are you wearing?" Granny Nobue says, looking me up and down with a disgruntled look.

I'm still in my school uniform. It feels totally out of place here, somehow. I look back at the picture of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the shōgun who started the Tokugawa period... Does this mean...?

I must look bewildered, because Hana and Granny Nobue laugh once again.

Granny Nobue takes me by the arm and says, "Let's get you a proper kimono, dear," and smiles, revealing a set of yellowed teeth.

Granny Nobue leads me to a kimono stand where a light red and pink kimono is hung up. There are cherry blossoms woven into the fabric, with silver thread highlighting the petals.

"This one will do just fine, don't you think, Hana?" Granny Nobue says.

"Yes Granny Nobue, I think it will do perfectly," Hana says, feeling the fabric of the kimono.

My mind is reeling, have I truly travelled back in time to the Tokugawa period, and become a maiko?!

My head is feeling dizzy and my vision is getting spotty... I feel like I might faint.

All of a sudden, Granny Nobue grips my hand in hers with surprising force, and it jolts me back into my body. Her hands are smooth but cold.

Granny Nobue looks straight into my eyes, "Sakiko-chan, I can already feel it... I think you are going to become an amazing geiko, mark my words!"

The dizziness is back, my vision swirls with pink cherry blossoms, and I feel myself falling. I hear Granny Nobue and Hana call out my name, "Sakiko?!" and I thump to the ground.

I guess... My wish on a cherry blossom truly did come true?!
Am I really prepared for this?!