KYOTO -- Amid the decline in the number of jikata -- the geiko specializing in shamisen and nagauta (long epic songs) -- in Kyoto's entertainment districts, women in their 20s and 30s who have changed their jobs to become jikata are making their presence felt.
Although it is unusual to become a geiko without experiencing a maiko apprenticeship, people in the entertainment districts see such mid-career jikata performers as a valuable workforce and welcome them through such means as seeking mid-career women wanting to become jikata performers through their websites.
Hizuru, 30, played shamisen in the Kamogawa Odori dance festival that began on May 1, the first day of the Reiwa era, in the Pontocho district of Nakagyo Ward, Kyoto, one of the five entertainment districts in Kyoto. She is among the jikata performers who have previous careers in other fields.
"I hope people will feel the bright atmosphere that fits the start of the Reiwa era," Hizuru said before the festival while practicing hard.
Born in Nakama, Fukuoka Prefecture, Hizuru began learning nagauta and shamisen when she was an elementary school student at her mother's recommendation. After graduating from high school, she began working as a waitress at a Japanese restaurant. However, at age 20, she made up her mind to work using the artistic skills she had practiced for many years. With the help of people in the field of Japanese music, Hizuru contacted people in the Pontocho district.
At that time, the Pontocho district has seen no new jikata performer for nearly 40 years, and some people were hesitant to accept her. However, an experienced performer said she was willing to train her if she was determined, and became her instructor.
Hizuru went to the Pontocho district for six months to practice shamisen and other skills while continuing her work. Then, she practiced as a resident apprentice for a year, and made her debut in 2014.
Hizuru, the youngest jikata performer in the five districts, said, "The harder the practice is, the happier I become when receiving applause and cheers from the audience."
Momino, the head of the Pontocho geiko association, said delightedly, "[Hizuru] comes to a training room before anyone else and makes efforts to improve her skills."
Declining number of aspirants
The most common way for a woman to become a geiko is to become a maiko apprentice in her teens and gain experience as a maiko for five to six years.
Since jikata performers provide music accompaniment to dance and performances of geiko and maiko on stages or in zashiki rooms, they are inconspicuous background players compared to "tachikata," the geiko who specialize in dance performances. It takes much time to acquire necessary skills, so there are few applicants for jikata performers, and existing jikata performers are aging.
In the prewar period, it is said that there were several hundred jikata performers. However, according to the Kyoto traditional art foundation that works to preserve and pass on the Kyoto entertainment culture, there were 39 jikata performers in the five districts as of January this year, a decline of 30 from 1999. Of them, nearly 60 percent are age 60 or older.
On the other hand, the number of maiko apprentices has increased by 16 to 73, while the number of tachikata performers increased by one to 135. The lack of jikata performers is conspicuous.
Each entertainment district asks professional Japanese music performers to play musical accompaniment at dance festivals in spring and autumn and uses prerecorded music for some plays. Under such circumstances, there are growing expectations for mid-career jikata performers like Hizuru.
One of the participants in the Gion Kobu district's Miyako Odori dance festival in April at the Minamiza Theater in Higashiyama Ward, Kyoto, was Danmitsu, who changed her career in the music industry to become a jikata. Aged in her 30s, she played shamisen while taking the role of "yobidashi," in which Danmitsu declared the start of the performance by saying "Miyako Odori wa," which geiko and maiko responded to with the call of "Yoiyasa" to start the performance.
In the entertainment districts, there are at least several jikata performers who have working experience in other fields, with some reportedly having worked as municipal officials and company employees.
Advertising on website
"There is no problem if you have no experience as maiko," the Pontocho Kabukai association said on its website, through which they began seeking applicants for jikata performers at the end of last year. The Kyoto traditional art foundation also posted an interview with Danmitsu on its website this spring, emphasizing that they open opportunities to people working in other fields and wanting to become jikata performers.
Kimi Ota, a proprietress of a long-established teahouse in the Gion Kobu district and head of the Kyoto federation comprising associations of the five entertainment districts, said: "People who changed their careers to become jikata quit their jobs and jumped into this world. For that reason, they are determined and reliable. They help vitalize the entire entertainment districts."
Kumiko Nishio, a professor of business science at Kyoto Women's University who is familiar with issues related to Kyoto's entertainment districts, said: "Due to the large decline in the number of jikata performers, people in the entertainment districts are encouraged to train people coming from outside as jikata performers. This situation makes it easier for mid-career applicants to be successful in the field."
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