What Would You Ask a Geisha, if You Had the Chance? Part 2

This interview with meiko Kiku ne when I was in Japan in November was one of the most interesting experiences I’ve ever had.

I didn’t analyse it at the time, I wanted to let myself be in the moment. But afterward, while producing the edited version you are about to watch, I reflected on the fact that we are all the same in so many ways.

Kiku ne’s story is like that of millions of young women around the world who dream of being actresses, singers, dancers, performers, writers, Olympic athletes, CEOs of international corporations, teachers, nurses, doctors, firefighters, law enforcement officers, politicians, astronauts, and more.

Today, we are only limited in that to which we aspire by our imaginations and our determination to realise our dreams.

Kiku ne dreamed of a different life than the one she lived with her family in Kiyushu. She wanted to move to the big city. She fantasized about what life would be like when she got there. People told her it would be difficult, "it’s not the life you know," they said.

But her dream was more powerful than the discouraging words she heard. And so she went to Kyoto to seek her fortune.

When she got there, the reality was not what she imagined it might be. It was REALLY hard, it IS really hard. She misses her family, she doesn’t have any friends. Her guardian is strict. The work is difficult. She must learn everything from scratch. But she doesn’t give up.

She is a gentle young woman from a small place who has discovered her dream is not as perfect as she thought it would be.

Still, it is her dream.

This is the second of a three or four-part interview; Part 1 is here, Part 3 is here, Part 4 is here.