Kamogawa Odori

I’ve got a few books about geisha and I’ve become a bit of a fan, but not of the hand held kind. One of these books Geisha by Liza Dalby mentions the Kamogawa Odori, the spring public dances by the geisha of Pontocho, and I was really excited to get the chance to go.

There are several groups of geisha in Kyoto, including those from Gion and Pontocho and I’ve sometimes managed to catch a glimpse of them in the early evening in the streets of these areas of town. In the spring and autumn special performances are held which allow the general public a chance to see the geisha perform in music and dance.

From the 1st to the 24th May the geisha of Pontocho held their 168th annual spring dance in the Pontocho Kaburenjo Theatre. They hold 3 performances a day, as well as carrying on with their regular evening work, so they must be pretty exhausted by the end of it. Kamogawa is the river that runs through the city, right outside the theatre and Odori means dance.


The first part of the performance was a comic play – Monogusa Soshi – The Story of Lazy Taro about a lazy village poet who is sent to work at a lord’s house in Kyoto. He is discovered to be the grandson of the late emperor and marries the lord’s daughter. The geisha performed all the roles and it seemed to be received well, there was lots of laughter and clapping.



The second part was a series of 5 dances – Passing of Spring in Kyoto. To the left of the stage were the geisha musicians, whilst on stage, geisha, and sometimes maiko, performed the dances themed around flowers, forest animals and rain. The end dance involved everyone and it was breathtaking to see that many geisha and maiko, all in their beautiful kimono and make-up.