On August 1, 2025, the Hassaku festival, a summer event where geisha and maiko express their gratitude to their masters and teahouses, took place in Kyoto's geisha district. Dressed in formal attire, including black crested kimono, the geisha and maiko exchanged greetings at their destinations.
In the Gion area, many geisha and maiko can usually be seen walking up and down the streets, but on this day, with temperatures exceeding 35°C from the morning, many were traveling by car.
At a teahouse in Kyoto's Higashiyama Ward, geisha and maiko arrived one after another, bowing and saying, "Congratulations, Mom. Thank you for everything," and "As always, we appreciate your patronage." The proprietress who greeted them thanked them, saying, "Thank you for your hard work in this heat."
Hassaku, which refers to the first day of August in the lunar calendar, is also known as the "Tanomi Festival," when farmers pray for a good harvest. As the word "Tanomi" (rice field fruit) is associated with the word "request," there was also a custom of visiting people who had helped out and paying their respects. The geisha districts of Kyoto have inherited this tradition and continue to celebrate it on August 1st in the solar calendar.
