Kiyo in Kyoto: From the Maiko House

[MacMeaties]

Kiyo x Kenta please. They are so short it's adorable.

 

[sjiveru]

I see Kiyo as having been given an opportunity to use her own talents while still being in the environment she's always wanted to be in. There's not a lot that sounds more fulfilling than that!

 

[Snowicaly]

We've caught up with the latest release now, which means that y'all have to wait a week for each chapter from now on.
Also, everyone needs a Kiyo-chan in their life. She's too precious.

 

[ph_ntom]

thanaks Snowicaly...
good thing i found mangadex...
i miss this manga since bato.to shutdown....

 

[Dodibones]

Is it Corndog or Waffle Hot dog?

 

[TetraSky]

Noodles and bread go nicely together.

 

[RedInACup]

I still don’t understand why they use -san twice.

 

[Pika]

http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm33417033

Someone apparently made some of the food in Maiko-chan!!!!!

Btw you need a nico nico account to watch nico nico videos

 

[livesofflight]

Kiyo definitely has a harem now right? She's even captured Mother.

 

[Midoriha]

I always wonder if Kiyo is getting paid for her work. She's formally the caterer of the manor after all.

It makes me wonder how the whole system works too. Taking care of the daily living and training all those little girls can't be cheap.

 

[PlanOfInaction]

@Midoriha

Long speculation:

Spoiler

I assume that it's under a apprenticeship system for the girls where they get room, board, and maybe a small allowance in return for being taught how to be a Maiko. There are plenty of traditionalist businessmen that probably would pay to give their gatherings a bit of class and prestige by having a Maiko present, as seen with this manga's representation of the clients. That money would go to fund the school.

 

[Winstonite]

edited

 

[Sparrowhawk]

I love this series so much. It's so calming and makes me really hungry... especially for fried foods. ?

 

[goronyanpai]

I can't stop smiling. I'd like to spend my money for this heart-warming manga.

I like how the author describes how special Kiyo is.
She holds the bigger role in the whole story. For Suu, Kenta and everyone in the manor.

It wraps everything needed, about culture, daily activites, cooking, friendship and many more.

 

[glitchedgod]

Does anyone know the time period of this manga? I don't see cellphones and the such so I was curious.

 

[Snowicaly]

@glitchedgod: I think it's set in modern-day Japan, you can see a smartphone on the cover of Volume 5.

 

[glitchedgod]

@Snowicaly Thanks so much!!!

 

[welcome2atlantis]

When I read this and see how busy these maiko and geiko are... I always think, ah, there are still people worse off than me... and it cheers me up.

 

[Snowicaly]

Series is put on-hold since the translator disappeared on us. In case anyone wants to help scanlate the series, please send me a message.

New translator has been found, thanks.

 

[sssr]

Sooo, I only started to read this recently, but I do have a bit of experience with geisha culture thanks to a dumb faux pas I committed in Gion. Basically, those Ochaya they depict in the manga are everywhere in Gion, and most of the really serious ones are never open. That is, the front of the shop is always a closed door with no signs except a lantern or a small light indicating that they're open for business. I guess there would be an identifier somewhere showing the name of the shop but that outsiders can't easily identify. There are, however, more tourist-friendly ones near the main street. I say tourist-friendly, but that is in the sense of having clear explanation in English that you HAVE to order something when you come in, and the minimum order is boiled tofu for 2,000 yen. You can have a mini-kaiseki experience for 6,000 yen, or a full one for between 10,000 to 50,000.

So naturally I went into one (alone) and went for the 12k course. The 6k course looks and feels too much like "kids' meal" and I couldn't afford the 50k one, obviously. They sat me on the bar and started serving dishes. Next to me was an honest-to-goodness professor and he was accompanied by an English-speaking off-duty Mother, but I only found this out later. Anyway, barely two minutes after I got in, a pair of geishas came inside and walked right into the private room in the ochaya. I could hear the show going on as the kaiseki dinner started getting served. Well, 30 minutes into the meal (or maybe much sooner) the faux pas happened: I didn't finish all the items in the course already served on the table. So for an embarrassingly long time I just waited there for the next course to show up and the staff waited for me to finish so they could remove the course already served in front of me. Finally the Mother and the professor figured out that the dumb gaijin didn't know he was supposed to finish the course before the next one could be served and volunteered to explain this to me. Oops.

Anyway, meal finally finished and they offered to share a bottle of sake, so we got to talking and the Mother started explaining the sounds coming from the private room. She's a Mother in the sense of a dance instructor, not a Kagai head, but she could explain well the traditional nuances of the entertainment. What surprised me was when the professor quipped that she shouldn't be doing that because she'd be cheapening what should have been 170k's worth of services. That was a holy shit moment for me, so I asked to reconfirm and the prof explained that the geiko's booking fee was 120k and her apprentice maiko's was 50k. Each of the customers in the private room (six men) also took the 32k meal option. Geisha service is expensive!

At the time I didn't have much appreciation for the kind of life geishas went through, and a 50k JPY per showing pay rate for a 17-yr-old girl sounded horribly excessive, but this manga laid things bare to me, so I can appreciate them more now. The Mother explained to me that maikos don't actually get much pay because most of that money go straight to fund their board and education. That's why being a geiko is still necessary for their career goal.