English: A training school for geiko (geisha) in the middle of geisha district in the Gion district of Kyot, Japan. And now here was another minor irritant: I am on a human powered rickshaw ride in Kyoto. Keeping with local regulations, my otherwise friendly and informative rickshaw-puller guide was very strict about the rules of photographing in this area- the geisha district. He made it clear that clients are not allowed to get off the rickshaw to take pictures and nor is he allowed to take pictures of and for the clients in this area. Ouch! The Gion district of Kyoto is the heart of Japan’s geisha world. In Kyoto, however, fully-fledged geisha are properly called geiko (pronounced “gay-ko”). Young ladies, usually between the ages of 15 and 20, train for five years to become a geiko. During this period, they are known as maiko (pronounced “my-ko”). Knowledgeable insiders estimate that there are about 100 geiko and 100 maiko in Kyoto. Other cities, like Tokyo, have some version of geisha, but they don’t usually undergo the strict training that defines Kyoto’s maiko and geiko. (Kyoto, Japan, Apr/ May 2019)