The Gion is an area of central Kyoto which is considered the entertainment district of the city. It is here that the Geisha still thrive and tea houses abound. The Gion is also the home to more "modern" entertainments -- hostess bars, karaoke bars, strip clubs. It is a place of stark contrasts; One street takes you back a hundred years, the next is full of angular concrete edifices with strobe lights.

Maiko are apprentice Geisha and are usually in their early to mid-teens. The process of becoming a Geisha takes about five years and involves the study of many different forms of performance -- dance, singing, tea ceremony, as well as other social skills necessary to those in the Water Trade. The typical Western idea of the Geisha as prostitute is a bit off the mark and as with so many other aspects of Japan, the truth is more complex and multi-layered.

Obon is the festival of ancestors and is held for about a week in the middle of August. At the beginning of this period, the spirits of the dead are said to be set free to roam the earth. During this time, people go to their ancestral temple to pray. At the end of Obon, fires and candles are lit to guide the spirits back to their resting place. Kyoto is an especially good place to see Obon, as the mountains surrounding the city are set ablaze with five bon fires in the shapes of kanji characters.

The Water Trade or Mizu-Shobai has been described in The Kojien as, "The vulgar term for any precarious form of trade yielding an income entirely dependent on the patronage of its customers; for example, entertainment provided by geisha, bars, cabarets and so on." The term is particularly used in reference to the Gion and comes from fact that such establishments are often found on the many waterways that wind through central Kyoto. Pictures from the Water Trade, a novel by John David Morley, provides an interesting look at this style of entertainment.