Hanamachi are areas formed mainly around shops where you can play with geisha. Until a law prohibiting prostitution was enforced in , it also referred to areas with brothels as well as geisha houses.
In Niigata there is Furumachi. In Fukuoka there is Hakata. In Nagasaki there is Maruyama and in this way they are scattered all over Japan. There is a difference in the terms used to designate the geisha and geiko or geigi, women who sell their arts in the hanamachi, and the maiko who are apprentices.
The words geiko and maiko are unique to rural areas like Kyoto , Osaka and Ishikawa. Geiko are commonly called geisha in mainly the Tokyo area. As for what maiko are called, actually, Kyoto is the only place where there are maiko. There are also geisha apprentices called hangyoku but because their origin is in a different culture, they are different from maiko. So what exactly is the difference between the women called geisha or geiko and the maiko apprentices?
Geisha and geiko are women who entertain guests with traditional Japanese dancing called buyo, which is a combination of mai and odori dancing, singing songs called ongyoku accompanied on the shamisen, and giving musical performances other than shamisen and singing called narimono using instruments like drums, flutes and bells. Maiko, which refers to the stage before becoming a geisha, are women who appear mainly as mai dancers at the ozashiki geisha houses. In general, maiko are around 20 years old and after that become geisha.
Also, it is not only the age but maiko and geisha have different clothes and hairstyles. So maiko clothing is gorgeous while geisha clothing has a sophisticated elegance. In a place called a teahouse where there is a banquet hall, enjoying food and sake while watching dances and songs by geishas is a stylish way of enjoying playing ozashiki in an exciting place.
