SHICHIGOSAN

On the last Saturday of August, our we went to a photo studio in Aobadai to have Maiko's SHICHIGOSAN family picture taken. A few weeks earlier, I had taken Maiko to the studio to pick out a Kimono for her and for myself and make reservations to rent out Maiko's Kimono on November 15th, the date of the actual SHICHIGOSAN ceremony.

Maiko, who is usually dressed in various shades of brown and beige, enjoyed her pink floral Kimono and fluffy hair-do, as well as all the attention.

I was surprised to see that she had had her picture taken alone without any tantrums while I was being dressed up in my Kimono.

I was also surprised that the studio allowed Ko to take snapshots of Maiko in her Kimono inside the studio.

Unfortunately, the makeup lady and hair lady - both of whom were presumably in their 50s - did an aweful job with my face and hair, so no photos of me. According to my beloved husband, I looked like someone from Ishikawa-cho. I don't even know what that means, but really. It could've been a compliment if he'd said "Ginza", right? But noop, he says "Ishikawa-cho." No offense to those working in Ishikawa-cho, but I guess I wasn't really aiming for that type of look.