Apprentice Geisha: Maiko
At about age 15, a minarai has her misedashi, the ceremony marking her transition to maiko, an apprentice geisha. She goes to the hairdresser to have her hair sculpted into the special maiko style. For the first time, she puts on full makeup, covering her face and neck except for three points extending down from her hairline in the back of her head. She changes from her girlish costume to that of a young woman, a black kuromontsuki. The kuromontsuki is a black kimono embroidered with the okiya crest used for the highest formal ceremonies. Once ready to present herself in her new status, the maiko stepped into the specially decorated okiya to make her official debut. She and her mentor visited the tea houses and her instructors. After a sansankudo ceremony between the girl, her mentor, and a senior maiko, the girl has made her debut as a maiko.