Ginza, Tokyo, Geisha walking, 1936
photo by Hiroshi Hamaya (濱谷浩)
A Geiko (Geisha) in costume for an Odori (Dance) as a country girl, smoking a pipe and carrying a basket of flowers on her back.
This is an Onnagata (male performer) as the Heron Maiden. The Heron Maiden is a narrative dance performed originally in the classical Noh Theatre. It was adapted for Kabuki in 1760.
“In the darkness of night a white heron perches on a frozen lake. She is the haunting spirit of a girl who died of a broken heart, her soul too restless to ascend to heaven. Memories of love, passion, jealousy and the torment of hell are conjured by the dancer.”
This postcard shows two Hangyoku (Young Geisha) sitting in an early Automobile. The car is a Colibri (Hummingbird) manufactured by the Norddeutsche Automobil-Werke (North German Auto Works) between 1908 and 1912.
