Lithograph , in original box and yellow cottonJapan , 20th centurySize: 38 cm by 38 cm paintingSize with frame: 59 cm by 59 cmA maiko is an apprentice geiko (not exactly the same as geisha) in Kyoto, western Japan. Their jobs consist of performing songs, dances and playing the shamisen or the koto (traditional Japanese instruments) for visitors during feasts. Maiko are usually aged 15 to 20 years old and become geiko after learning how to dance the traditional kyomai dances, play the shamisen, and learning Kyo-kotoba (dialect of Kyoto), regardless of their origins.Number 29 of 22010th October 1983signed