Japan's First Western Geisha
By Abigail Haworth
She's got a Ph.D. from Oxford, but Fiona Graham spent a year learning how to pour tea. Oh, and she has to greet her senior geisha sisters on bended knee. In a Marie Claire exclusive, she describes how she became the only foreign geisha in town. READ HER STORY.
Western Geisha
geisha, japan, international
geisha on train
Fiona Graham, who goes by her geisha name of Sayuki, on a Tokyo subway train.
Western Geisha
geisha, japan, international
geisha
Sayuki at her dressing table.
Western Geisha
geisha, japan, international
white face paint
Sayuki primps for a banquet by applying thick white rice-powder paint and black eyeliner, a look that\'s reminiscent of 17th-century fashions.
Western Geisha
geisha, japan, international
geisha
Sayuki applies black eyeliner.
Western Geisha
geisha, japan, international
geisha dressing
Sayuki dons several layers of lingerie that she wears beneath her kimono.
Western Geisha
geisha, japan, international
geisha
Sayuki wears shoes that are too small to make her feet look more petite.
Western Geisha
geisha, japan, international
two geishas in a rickshaw
Sayuki and fellow geisha Azuha head home from a banquet.
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