When the blossoming of Kyoto’s cherry trees announces the arrival of spring, Gion is decorated with bright red lanterns known affectionately as tsunagi-dango (dumplings on sticks.) It is then that the popular dance Miyako Odori, with its theme of cherry blossoms in full bloom, is performed. Miyako Odori brings maiko and geisha from the Gion district together to perform a dance whose grace is interrupted only by inviting voices of "haru dosue” (spring has come) and "hana dosue” (the flower is here.) The performance exudes the beauty of Japan.
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The Miyako Odori was first staged in the fifth year of the Meiji era (1872) as a main event of the Kyoto Expo. The Expo was the result of the concern felt by the government and the people of Kyoto for the future of their city following the transfer of the capital from Kyoto to Tokyo. Although interrupted by the Second World War, the dance has been held almost every year for the past 134 years.
The Miyako Odori opens with sou-odori - the entire cast of maiko and geishas appearing from runways on both sides of the stage. Each dancer bears a cherry blossom fan and, to the accompaniment of shamisen played by skillful geishas, calls out “yoiya sa!” The performance begins with an okiuta, or overture, followed by seven acts that express the changing of the seasons. The show ends with Act 8, when all 39 maiko and geisha reappear to perform together on a stage decorated with cherry blossoms in full bloom.
In Act 3, the dance changes from the sou-odori. Each of the acts present dancers in costumes that match the particular themes presented, such as Rokujoin no Ike no Utage - a story from the Tale of Genji in Act 3, Urashimataro – The Fisher Boy in Act 5 ( where the dancers are clad in Tang-dynasty-style costumes), and the Shugakuin Imperial Villa in The Snow in Act 7 ( when banquet hall geisha costumes are worn). It is also of interest to see how the changing of the four seasons is presented without the curtain falling even once.
The particularly colourful ornamental hairpin that decorates the black hair of maiko is known as a hana kanzashi (flower hairpin). The hana kanzashi calendar consists of 12 different types of hairpins for each month, such as “pine-bamboo-plum” for January, "plum tree" for February, and “rape flower” for March. For the Miyako Odori, “cherry” for April is worn, enhancing the beauty of the maiko. In December, maiko wear what is known as “maneki,” which varies in size depending on the age and experience of the wearer. Maneki can vary from small delicate hairpins to large colourful ones.
Kintakedo, one of the few hana kanzashi makers left in Kyoto, has been crafting hairpins since the Miyako Odori began in 1872. Nowadays, not only maiko but people from all over Japan interested in authentic maiko style visit the shop to purchase hairpins for various events, including coming-of-age ceremonies and shichi-go-san (which celebrates children of 7, 5 and 3 years old), as well as for daily use.
