Kyoto cracks down on geisha ‘shooters’

Tourists acting like paparazzis are harassing geikos in Gion

Authorities in Kyoto are banning tourists from entering privately run alleyways in Gion district to take photos of geishas due to mounting complaints by residents on the intrusive paparazzis.

Signs will go up in the coming weeks asking tourists to refrain from entering privately run alleyways in Gion, although the area’s main public streets will remain open.

“We don’t want to do this, but we’re desperate,” Isokazu Ota, an executive member of a residents’ council, said last week, comparing tourists who crowd around geisha emerging from the narrow alleys to “paparazzi.”

Residents are fed up with visitors sometimes rudely demanding selfies with or otherwise bothering the geiko, who wear smart kimonos and white make-up, with their hair styled in an elaborate bun.

The real-life geisha, or “geiko” (“women of art”) as they are known locally, work for a living — as they have for centuries — in teahouses in Kyoto’s picturesque Gion district where they perform traditional Japanese dance, music and games for customers.

Jane Stafford from Australia told Agence France-Presse in Gion at the weekend that she and her travel companions had been advised by a family member not to take photos there.

But she also questioned restricting movement in the bustling district lined with oldstyle wooden buildings.

“To me, this is a unique heritage area that people want to enjoy, and we’d like to photograph the architecture,” she said.

“It’s a shame that people can’t enjoy it in smaller groups,” she said, suggesting that big tours be broken up.