The Azuma-odori

In Kyoto, there are some geisha districts, and each geisha district holds a big annual geisha performance at a public theater in Kyoto, such as the Gion-odori,  Kitano-odori and Kyo-odori.
These performances have a long history and holding such a performance is very important for the geisha culture.

In Tokyo, there are also some geisha districts; for example, in Shimbahi, Akasaka, Asakusa, Kagurazaka and so on.
Shimbashi’s geisha district holds the Azuma-odori.

On May 29th, I went to see the Azuma-odori at Shimbashi Embuzyo (新橋演舞場), which is a theater for traditional performances, with my geisha mother and some geisha sisters.

I had seen other geisha performances, such as the Akasaka-odori, Asakusa-odori and Kagurazaka-odori, however it was my first time to see the Azuma-odori.

The Shimbashi geisha district has a long history dating back to the Meiji Period and the Azuma-odori started in 1925 and is said to be one of the more refined geisha performances, so I was exited.

The Azuma-odori is held over 4 days and each day has 3 performance times.
We were to see the second performance on the 29th.

Currently Kabuki is being performed at the Shimbashi Embuzyo, because Kabuki-za,  the symbolic theater of Kabuki, is under reconstruction.
So I felt the atmosphere of the Shimbashi Embuzyo was very special.

When we arrived at the venue, there were many people, including some men, who were wearing kimono.
Some of them seemed to be geisha or maiko.
Some women talked to my geisha mother, and I realized that my geisha mother is quite well-known.

The performance started soon after we arrived and I was fascinated by the high quality performance.
The dance quality was excellent and the atmosphere was perfect due to the elaborate costumes and the first-class stage direction.
Not only the Tachikata (立方), the geisha dancers, but also the Zikata (地方), the geisha who play the shamisen and sing, were wonderful.

During the interval, we enjoyed a tea-ceremony, where some Shimbashi geisha were entertaining the customers on the second floor.
After we drunk tea, we enjoyed shopping in the souvenir shop.

I was really able to enjoy the Azuma-Odori.
I want to be able to dance as well as the Shimbashi geisha someday.