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Kikune Dreams Of One Day Becoming A Kyoto Geisha

November 16, 2009

Kikune knelt in front of Fukiko and me, the epitome of grace and beauty in a spectacular melon-coloured kimono.

She was in turn thoughtful, playful and coy, as she answered my questions and shared the trials, tribulations, and joys of fulfilling her dream: to become one of Kyoto’s legendary geisha.

It was a conversation I shall never forget.

One year later, I’ve finally produced the last in the series of four short videos that resulted from that interview of a lifetime. (Better late than never!)

As I put the final touches on the video, I cast my mind back to the delightful 10 days I spent in Japan, mostly with my then-hostess and soon-to-be friend Fukiko Yuki Teramachi.

Fukiko hosts visitors from around the world in her traditional Japanese home, which she operates as a guesthouse (it’s located in a small village about 40 minutes, by train, outside of Kyoto). My stay with her was one of the most peaceful, spiritually satisfying times of my life so far.

While there, I learned this: if we all paid more attention to the exquisite beauty of simple tasks, and did simple things in beautiful ways, instead of being so concerned about having more of this and more of that, the world would be a much better place in which to live.

I remembered that lesson this week. I’m pleased to honour Fukiko and Kikune for teaching it to me by sharing the fourht and last segment of that oh-so-long-ago interview. The first three segments are here:

What Would You Ask A Geisha Part 1
What Would You Ask A Geisha Part 2
What Would You Ask A Geisha Part 3

See more about the trip, and the wonderful experiences I had there, in the related links under the video clip.